Tennis
The Park Club has some of the best tennis facilities in London. With 9 all weather astroturf courts, 5 grass courts, 4 tarmacadum courts and 4 mini tennis courts, combined with 3 to 5 tennis pros subject to the season, we are able to provide adults and children with fantastic opportunities to get involved in the sport.
Tennis Programme
There are several key aspects of Park Club Tennis, which are outlined below:
Social
Throughout the week we offer a host of Drill and Social classes. Classes take part in the Morning, afternoon and Evening in an attempt to provide at least one class for members to attend. Max, Shane and James, our highly qualified coaches, take the classes and can be found in the adult bar immediately prior to the class commencing as a meeting point. The emphasis here is on social tennis.
Performance
The Club provides a host of opportunities to compete against Park Club members of all levels as well as external competitions too. With our association to the Lawn Tennis Association, Park Club members who register as British Tennis Members can be ranked both within and outside of the Club. The on-line BOX LEAGUES best demonstrate this. Additionally, there are regular tournaments including our main Park Club Tennis Tournament which can be followed here.
Grand Slam Series Tournaments & Final
After the success of the 2009 Grand Slam Series tournaments – supported by Porsche Centre West London, the 2010 series will undoubtedly be hotly contested. These tournaments are open to both Men and Women and are played through the year coinciding with the 4 majors. The top 8 players who accumulate the most points through the series will then be invited to play in the Finals day to decide the Grand Slam Series Winner.
The Grand Slam Tournaments take place on Friday morning’s and dates are published well in advance in our Tennis Calendar, well worth taking a day off work to get involved. Not only does great prestige come with taking the Title but also a great prize is up for grabs. This years winner took home the inaugural title as well as a Porsche track day.
The four tennis titles, the Australian, French, US and Wimbledon, were selected as being the biggest in tennis because, at the time they were the main international championships held in the only four countries who had won the Davis Cup.
Events
Each year the club will host off site visits to major tennis events such as Queens (Stella Artois), Wembley Super Set and The Royal Albert Hall Masters.
Individual Coaching
Individual lessons will be available to all members throughout the year along with professional hitters. Please contact the bookings desk for more information.
Assessments
All of the classes on our tennis timetable, either social or drills, will be suited to a certain level of player. If you require our coaches to assess your suitability for one of our classes please come along to a class that you believe matches your ability level. Our coach will then be able to tell you if this is the right class for you and, if not, what class you should be attending . We do try to ensure that there are classes that everybody can come along to, both daytime and evening, that will best match your ability and therefore increase your satisfaction when taking part.
New on-line box league
Our New ON-LINE Box Leagues commenced in September 2009. Made up exclusively of Club members this mixed singles league will allow members to challenge each other and improve their ranking within the club. Our next round of Box Leagues are scheduled to Start in April 2010 for details on how to get involved please contact Pat Fisher
You can now follow the results of the various Club Tennis Tournaments and our brand new box league as they progress.
SUMMER 2010 PARK CLUB BOX LEAGUES.
SPRING 2010 PARK CLUB BOX LEAGUES.
AUTUMN 2009 PARK CLUB BOX LEAGUES.
The idea is that once you have been allocated to a given box, then you will play your matches against fellow members. Matches can be set up by email (which will remain anonymous) and league members will be given 3 months to play their matches. Each match will produce a winner who will be allocated 1 point and the loser zero points. At the end of the period, to build movement and dynamism to the league, the overall winner of the box will go up 2 boxes and the bottom position player down two boxes. The runner up will climb one box and the bottom player fall one box.
Specific prizes will be awarded on a quarterly basis for those players who have participated in the league.
Online tennis blog
Our tennis pros will be regularly updating their blogs to keep members up-to-date with tennis events. The blogs will include information on coaching promotions, various tennis articles and tournament information, as well as box league results.
Adult Bar
A tennis notice board is available in the adult bar, providing information on all up and coming events and tennis related activities.
Tennis Court Etiquette
For the safety and enjoyment of all members please observe the following
- 1. Do not walk across courts when play is in progress.
- 2. Return stray balls to neighbouring courts as soon as points are completed.
- 3. Leave the court promptly when reserved time has expired and others a re waiting to play.
- 4. High standards of conduct are expected at all times.
- 5. Appropriate tennis attire, including proper tennis shoes with non-marking soles must be worn. Shirts are required.
- 6. If a reserved court is not occupied 15 minutes after the scheduled starting time, the court will be assigned to waiting players on a first come, first served basis.
- 7. Young children may NOT be courtside while parents play.
- 8. During grass court season courts can be booked 6pm – 9pm weekdays and 10am – 9pm weekends.
- 9. Grass courts must not be used when wet.
- 10. Strictly no ball games other than tennis.
Tennis Coaches
Shane Hurst (CCA, First Aid)
Shane is an incredibly experienced Tennis player with a wide knowledge of the game, garnered from playing with the best whilst travelling through America, Germany and Portugal. Shane has played and beaten some of the best players the world has to offer including Lleyton Hewitt, Bob Bryan, James Blake & Mike Bryan, all of whom have been ranked highly in the world. Shane also has a wealth of coaching experience. He teaches a wide range of players from first timers to the very best in the game. He has played & coached with John McEnroe, Pat Rafter and John Newcombe to name but a few.
Max Hastings (CCA, HSE Child First Aid)
Max has been playing and coaching Tennis for over 20yrs. He has held coaching positions as The Director of Tennis in several American clubs & camps. His vast experience has allowed him to develop a fun coaching style. Max has a very mature approach to teaching and believes that anybody can learn how to play tennis given the right knowledge and direction. He teaches pupils of all ages and abilities, from total beginners to advanced club and county players. In Max’s junior days he competed at a national level and has trained with top players such as Tim Henman and Jamie Delgado. Last year Max gained his CCA qualification and is now also qualified to teach the LTA’s Youth Leaders Award, designed to help teenagers gain their first step in coaching tennis*.
* For more detail of this service please contact Pat Fisher on 020 8743 4321 or email at
James Cox (CCA, First Aid)
James is a fully licensed LTA Club Coach and for the last 7 years has been teaching people of all ages and abilities. James has worked extensively at both county and recreational levels in Jersey, which is where he is from. He is now helping The Park Club to expand on our tennis programme. James has always played at a competitive level and has represented the Channel Islands at both junior and senior levels and also captained Leeds Metropolitan University.
James can be booked for either individual or group lessons and also takes several new classes recently added to our junior and adult programmes.
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