New Tennis Courts For Hammersmith Park

Newly resurfaced tennis courts at Hammersmith Park

Thanks to our local council, the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, for the newly resurfaced tennis courts at Hammersmith Park.

The old tennis courts had deteriorated badly and were prone to flooding, collecting mud and debris in wet weather. 

New Tennis Nets at Hammersmith Park

Old (top) vs new (bottom)

Many thanks to the Parks Team at the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham for the new tennis nets recently installed in Hammersmith Park. 

The old nets were in pretty bad shape, with holes so big it wasn't clear whether balls were going over the net or through it.

The tennis courts in Hammersmith Park are one of our best local amenities. You can't book them in advance - meaning that anyone can drop in at any time and play.  

You might have to wait a few minutes, but spontaneity is rewarded for the patient.  

Hammersmith Park Tennis Court Needs Resurfacing

Soggy tennis courts in Hammersmith Park

The tennis courts in Hammersmith Park are one of our best local amenities, at least when it hasn't rained for a while. The best thing about the courts is that you can't book them in advance - meaning that anyone can drop in at any time and play.  You might have to wait a few minutes, but spontaneity is rewarded for the patient.  

The downside is that the tarmac on the courts has bizarrely been designed to drain into the centre of the courts themselves (rather than drain towards the verges, as you might expect), turning the courts into a wet sludgy mess after every rainfall.  

Hammersmith Park Tennis Courts Locked

Why lock the courts?

Sometimes our local council moves in mysterious ways.  On Sunday I went to the tennis courts in Hammersmith Park to play with my children, only to discover the courts locked.  

Two basketball players were also there, but none of us could get in.  Not to worry, I said, let's crawl in through the hole in the fence at the back.  But no luck; the council - in its wisdom and efficiency - has blocked up the hole. 

The two basketball players were undeterred; they simply climbed over the fence, while my kids and I had to find somewhere else to hit a ball. 

But how long will it be, I wondered, before someone makes a new hole in the fence?