5 Places to Play Tennis

Tennis, the sport for a lifetime, gives your body and mind a workout while letting you enjoy the friendship and excitement of the game. You just need a racquet, a can of balls, and a court.

Playing outdoors during the warm months makes it even more fun.  The fresh air, sounds and sights of summer perk you right up, and the outdoor season usually lasts from mid-April through mid-October. 

Whether you want to play every day, once a week, or once a month, here are five places to go:

You don’t have to go far. Within a mile or two in Livingston are nice, free hard-surface tennis courts. They might get busy but regulations to ensure courteous change of court behavior (e.g., vacate courts on the hour; no player may play for two consecutive hours when there is a wait for a court, etc.) are posted at each of the three locations. Warning: official matches, lessons and school play may bump you.

1. There are four newly surfaced bright blue tennis courts in the Northland Recreation Center at the end of Jefferson Court near the Northland Community Pool. It abuts a playground and sits just below a sports field. You may get distracted watching the players and coaches enter and leave during the season, but the payoff is that this court gets a little more shade sooner than the others. 

2. A skip and a jump from Livingston High School, by the Haines Community Pool on Wahler Road, are six courts and a wall. The bucolic Littell’s Pond, busy basketball courts, and the Littell People’s Park playground surround the courts.   

3. Heritage Middle School on Foxcroft Drive also has six courts, which may be less busy than the others. It is near a baseball field.

4. You can also play at the Essex County courts in Verona Park and Brookdale Park, which have lights.  Verona Park’s three courts are located on Porcello Lane (more info: 973-268-3500 x 6228 or 6229).  Brookdale Park in Montclair has 11 tennis courts on West Circuit Drive, including camps and other tennis programs run by a private academy (more info: 973-744-7060).

5. There are affordable private opportunities as well. One nearby tennis club is Berkeley (www.berkeleytennis.com), in suburban Orange, where I play because its six soft red clay courts are SO kind to your body.  The red clay cushions the pounding that we do in the game and my knees are so grateful! The club also gives me the chance to meet other friendly players who love playing the game as much as I do.  Berkeley just began a new member promotion for only $275 plus tax (more info: 973-202-6796 or email rbohan@optonline.net). 

Some of the homes in Livingston sport private backyard courts.  I won’t really tell you where they are, but if you were to take a walk, find a court, and become friends with its owner, I won’t tell.