Courts

Aerial view (2005)

Hawthorn Tennis Club has seven red porous (en-tous-cas) courts, all of which are under lights for night play.

Aerial view of HTC and surrounds

A court booking system is used for making court reservations and payment for lights and visitor players can be made at the time of booking the court (Tennis tab -> Court Bookings).

Our courts use recycled water that is collected from the roof of the Clubhouse, as well as from the water drainage system under the courts and recycled back into the water storage tanks.

Night play

Night play

Court Care

nike tennis shoe sole.jpg

Tennis shoes

  • Please ensure that you are wearing correct tennis shoes when playing on the courts (cross trainers and runners can damage the court). Shoes must be flat and have no raised heel.

  • Dunlop Volleys, for example, are an ideal inexpensive tennis shoe for red porous courts. They have a herringbone sole pattern and no raised heel.

Watering and bagging

Not watering red porous courts enough can not only result in long term damage to the courts, but also present a hazard to players as dry courts tend to be slippery. Guidelines for court maintenance by players:

  • Before playing - if courts are dry, water from fence to fence (i.e., entire court surface, including behind the baseline) before commencing play.

  • During play - courts must be bagged and watered at the end of each set. If only hitting socially then every 30 minutes is recommended in the warmer months.

  • On completion of play - courts must be bagged and watered again (fence to fence).

Wet courts

Red porous courts are ideally suited to Melbourne’s wet weather as they tolerate quite a bit of rain and drain well, unlike traditional European clay courts (finer particles make drainage slower) and synthetic/hardcourt surfaces which can remain unplayable for significant periods of time post rain.

Rain-beater Rollers can be used for mopping up puddles (see video below for instructions on their use). Please do not play on water-logged courts however. The Rollers are effective on isolated puddles, but not for very wet and water-logged courts. Playing on wet courts can cause significant damage to the courts.