Tennis
Home to Five Har-Tru Tennis Courts, 4 with Lights
Weather Updates - Please check here for tennis related weather cancellations.
Minnechaug is home to five Har-Tru tennis courts. Courts are available for play from sunrise until 11:00 p.m. Courts must be reserved online.
The tennis courts are generally open from the end of April/beginning of May to the middle or end of October.
Har-Tru courts are watered between 12:30 - 1:00 PM each day and take approximately 30 minutes to dry during normal conditions. Courts should be ready to play by 1:30 PM.
All guests must be signed in on the tennis bulletin board, just next to court 1.
Courts must be swept and all trash put in trash receptacles during the last five minutes of court reservation.
Players must provide their own balls and remove their balls at the end of play. Clay court regular duty felt balls play best on the Har-Tru surface.
Players must wear proper soft court, smooth soled tennis sneakers on Har-Tru courts. Absolutely no running shoes, shoes with ridges or uneven soles, or open toe shoes are allowed on Har-Tru courts.
Meet Our Head Tennis Pro
Ryan Foster
Ryan returns to Minnechaug with lots of energy and tennis pro experience. Ryan currently works at East Hartford Racquet Club, teaching junior and adult clinics, as well as private lessons. He is the former head coach of the North Salem (NY) girls and boys tennis teams. Ryan also coached the tennis team at Hunter College, where he helped them achieve their first conference final appearance in 12 years.
Ryan is a former Division I athlete from Fairleigh Dickinson University where he played 4 singles and 3 doubles. During his freshman year, he won numerous tournament titles before transferring to Assumption College (Division 2), playing 1 singles and 1 doubles all three years. After graduating in 2018 with a degree in accounting, he ran his own LLC as a tennis coach in Bergen County, NJ where he held numerous programs at Haworth Country Club, White Beeches Country Club, and the Jewish Community Center. He has worked with many top juniors in the NY/NJ area.
Ryan looks forward to using his broad range of experience to enhance the tennis programming at Minnechaug.
General Information
Only participating tennis players are permitted on the courts. Proper tennis shoes are required.
Court conduct will not be disruptive to players on adjoining courts.
Use of more than four (4) tennis balls on Har-Tru courts 1, 2, 3, and 4 will not be permitted except when sanctioned by the tennis committee.
Players are responsible for policing the court after use. This includes: sweeping the Har-Tru courts and line, hanging up all equipment, and placing all trash, including used tennis cans and tops, in receptacles.
No play is allowed on Har-Tru Courts after they are closed for the season (generally in October).
Members are prohibited from providing lessons to other members or club guests on the club property for any type of monetary gain or barter on or off the club property. This rule does not apply to members who are on the tennis staff payroll and who may give lessons for a fee.
Tennis professionals and instructors, not employed by the Club, are prohibited from giving lessons, for pay or barter, using the club facilities. However, guest instructors may be invited to supplement the Club’s resident professional, but only when sanctioned by the tennis chair/committee.
Scheduling Courts
The tennis courts will be available for use as long as weather conditions permit. To prevent damage to the playing surface, the courts will be closed during wet periods. Players are expected to exercise judgment concerning the condition of the courts; however, final authority as to condition resides with the tennis committee or its designee.
Blocks of time may be set aside by the tennis committee with the approval of the Board of Directors for the purpose of instruction, tournament play, weekly adult tennis groups or other events. Utiliization during such time shall not count agains Prime Time Limitation for a family as set forth below.
Court time is divided into prime and non-prime time periods, each period 1-1/2 hours in duration. Court policing must be completed within the time period. Prime time is defined as daily after 6 PM, all day Saturday and before 12 noon on Sunday and legal holidays.
Junior members (under eighteen) may not reserve courts after 6:30 PM.
Prime Time Limitations: Families are entitled to reserve only one (1) prime time play per day. Each family is allowed to reserve not more than two (2) prime time periods each week.
Any member is eligible for a prime time slot on a weekend or holiday if he or she has an out-of-state guest, regardless of their usage prior in the week; normal guest fees apply.
Non-Prime Time Limitations: Families are entitled to reserve only one (1) non-prime time play per day. Each family is allowed to reserve not more than three (3) non-prime time periods each week.
Periods that have not been reserved by 6 PM on the day preceding the day of the scheduled time may be reserved by any member. Periods so reserved will not be charged against the daily and weekly limits specified in Rules 5 and 7.
Members are encouraged to cancel any reserved court time to allow for other usage of the court. Any court time not canceled prior to 6 PM on the day preceding the day of the scheduled time shall still be counted as utilization by the member. No shows for scheduled time may result in temporary revocation of reservation privileges. If a member is more than 15 minutes late for a reserved time, then the reservation shall no longer be considered valid and the court may be played by others.
Court reservations shall be honored in all cases. Members playing on a reserved court shall vacate the court at the request of the member with a proper reserved time on that court.