Matteo Berrettini kisses the cinch Championship trophy at Queen’s. PICTURE: GETTY IMAGES
Inspired by the dazzling tennis of Queen’s champion and Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini?
If you want to improve your tennis skills, Hammersmith & Fulham has opportunities galore. Visit Play Tennis H&F to book a tennis court online at the following parks:
- Ravenscourt Park, W6
- Hurlingham Park, SW6
- South Park, SW6
- Eel Brook Common, SW6
- Brook Green, W6
The tennis courts at Hammersmith Park in White City W12 are available for free so you can just turn up and play.
The courts in Fulham’s Normand Park are managed by Virgin Active Fulham Pools. Bookings can be made by calling 020 7471 0450 or in person at the leisure centre. The centre also offers discounts to non-members on coaching courses. Email fulham.racquets@virginactive.co.uk for details.
There are also openings for all ability levels in the Hammersmith & Fulham Tennis League.
Backed by the Lawn Tennis Association, the current competition matches players of similar standard in games at Brook Green, Bishops Park, Ravenscourt Park, Eel Brook Common, Hurlingham Park and South Park. The fee is £18 per round.
For more details about tennis and courts in H&F, visit our Tennis web page.
Other local courts
Check out the Bishops Park Tennis Centre in Bishops Avenue, Fulham, where the annual £55 membership (£30 for U18s) offers benefits including advance court booking, discounts, entry into the Wimbledon ticket ballot for next year and access to leagues and local competitions. There are also summer coaching camps using the 12 floodlit courts and four mini courts.
Or why not try the Hartswood Tennis Club near Ravenscourt Park? The club just off Hartswood Road in Shepherds Bush currently has a 250-strong waiting list, and charges £350 a year for adult membership (juniors from £65). It has six floodlit all-weather courts.
Queen’s and Wimbledon first
Now ranked 8 in the world after being pipped to his first grand slam victory by Novak Djokovic in a thrilling final at the All England Club on Sunday, Berrettini proved a hugely popular victor with spectators at Queen’s two weeks earlier.
The 25-year-old Italian, who stands 6ft 5in, will surely go on to win a grand slam title, but he can look back on a remarkable 2021 run at Queen’s in which he beat – among others – Andy Murray and Dan Evans before a three-sets triumph over British No1 Cameron Norrie in the final.
Berrettini, who didn’t drop a single service game in the entire tournament at Queen’s, became the first Italian to reach the Wimbledon men’s final.
“I think I never dreamed about this because it was too much of a dream – I’m really proud,” he said, ahead of his showdown with Djokovic.
The Italian followed in the footsteps of a teenage Boris Becker, who turned pro in 1984, won Queen’s – his first top-level singles title – in 1985, then became the first unseeded player and the first German to win Wimbledon two weeks later.
Want to read more news stories like this? Subscribe to our weekly e-news bulletin.
