Tennis in Harrow For All Budgets

• By Ellen O'Riordan on Apr 21, 2016

Tennis in Harrow For All Budgets

Whilst tennis is generally a rather privileged sport, playing tennis in Harrow is incredibly affordable.  Clubs are surprisingly good value for money and yet their courts are well maintained and their coaches are highly qualified.  Pay per play courts are modest, with no extra frills, but they are also modestly priced.  Whether you’re feeling spontaneous, strapped for cash and are looking to hit a few balls around a court or you want to work hard at improving your game in order to compete with friends, rivals and sporty strangers, there’s a court, coach and community to suit you.  

Affordable memberships...

Harrow Lawn Tennis Club has over 250 members making use of their 12 outdoor acrylic courts, 6 of which are porous and playable in any weather.  Their members participate in internal social games and tournaments as well as the annual Middlesex League.  There is a thriving coaching programme which caters to adults and juniors.  To join the club, hit the courts on a weekend morning, where you can play a few games and getting chatting with a committee member.  Memberships are very reasonably priced at £139 for an annual adult membership or £250 for a family.  Note that memberships run from March to April of each year.  

For a strong community atmosphere...

For many players, the social atmosphere and sense of comradery is just as important, if not more so than the play itself.  Harrow Weald Lawn Tennis Club is a members, non-profit club with a strong social vibe.  It features 4 artificial grass courts and one hard court, all of which are in excellent condition.  Floodlights are available on 4 of the courts until 9.30pm and 8pm on Sundays.  The club runs a number of social tennis sessions during the week, with the busiest night being Wednesdays.  The club also organises junior and adult tournaments (singles, doubles and mixed doubles).  The coaches are LTA qualified and offer group and private sessions for adults and juniors of all ages and stages.   Full adult membership costs £250, juniors aged 16-18 pay £112 and juniors cost £62.

Improve your serve...

Tstar Academy offers private and group coaching lessons to both adults and children.  Adult classes are arranged by standard (beginner or intermediate) and occur on Saturday and Sunday morning.  The courses span 7-11 weeks and are reasonably priced working out at £9 per lesson.  Kids coaching also runs on the weekends and caters to Tots (2-5) years and kids up to 11+.  Tstar also run holiday camps for children where they’ll learn the core skills and techniques in a relaxed and fun environment.

Cheap and cheerful pay per play…

For a knocked-down knock about head one of the many parks in Harrow such as Woodcock Park where there are 4 full-sized hard courts and 2 mini courts.  Under 17s play for free and adults pay £6.50 per hour.  Alternatively, if you have access to a child you will only pay £3.25 for the court (kidnapping is frowned upon).  Book online at Openplay via the link below.

For the penniless player...

Pop down to Harrow Weald Recreation Ground where the 3 hard tennis courts in Harrow are free to use and do not require prior booking.  For free facilities, they are in surprisingly adequate condition.  The grounds can be found in North Harrow and are on a number of bus routes.