While tennis at the beach is not one of the top sports activities these days, you will find out that courts are in demand on a spring day in February and with perfect weather, even a novice player can have fun just being outdoors.
I could tell that tennis at the beach just isn’t what it used to be when my local beach resort hotel, Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach, shuttered the metal gate to its courts, and closed tennis down, opting for other activities on demand, such as a new pleasure pool built in theme park fashion for kids. Out in search of great beach tennis, I knew the courts along Balboa & Newport Blvds. would be in demand on this sunny Feb. afternoon, so I decided not to head south for a game. I’ve played often at the two courts available in Huntington Harbour at the Harbour View School. These were courts renovated through the help of a Realtor I’ve met, Sean Stanfield, who ranks as one of the top 10 in sales nationally. Thanks Sean for helping save the decaying court surfaces we used to trip and fall over!
A nice public court that’s often available in early afternoon is in Seal Beach. And the beauty of this park with two courts is that there’s a view of the Alamitos Harbor from the courts (through the green mesh). On this particular afternoon, the weather was just out of this world. We’d been going there in the recent rains, taking a broom and sweeping off the courts so we could play. Sure, my tennis balls are duds now, thanks to getting wet. But the setting makes everything so enjoyable. Kids swing and play in the lawns and playground near the courts, and basketball players get togehter for games on the other side of the fence. There’s a soft breeze that blows through from the Pacific Ocean just a few blocks away, and even though the afternoon sun hits one person smack dab in the eyes, it’s still worth playing. While I’ve never actually discovered tennis courts ON the beach, the closest experience can be found at the tennis courts at Hotel del Coronado. From your elevated vantage point, you can play tennis and see the beach and bay just below the courts. It’s outstanding!