Adult Tennis Courses - FAQS

Yes, you can hire a tennis racket for £5 per hour. Tennis rackets are available in our sports retail shops at Hyde Park, The Regent's Park, Chiswick and Lammas Park.

We also, have a selection of rackets (and balls) to purchase at competitive prices.

If you want to try a demo racket before making your purchase you can now do that for just £25 per racket with our exclusive Park Sports Demo Racket Service! This amount will be deducted from your bill if you decide to subsequently buy the racket from the venue on the day. We do not provide rackets for hire.

You should call your local venue to ask, no more than one or two hours prior to the start of your booking.

Different rules for camps and courses apply, according to the circumstances. Please refer to our Cancellations and Refund Policy.

Yes, if our adult courses are fully booked, you can join our waiting lists or sign up to our emails to receive the latest news and offers.

If you join one of our waiting lists, you will be notified by email if a space or suitable alternative becomes available, along with instructions on how to book.

Due to the popularity at our venues, we cannot guarantee that you will be offered a space. We strongly encourage you to check our website frequently to give yourself the best opportunity to secure one.

By signing up to our emails, you will be among the first to know of new courses as soon as they become available to book.

No, but should you find a different activity you wish to book instead we can remove you from the waiting list if you want us to. To do this just let your venue know.

We have a range of tennis rackets to choose from, at competitive prices. At Hyde Park and The Regent's Park we also stock padel rackets. Please contact the venue for more details.

Weekly Drills are ideal for trying out tennis or padel for the first time, or for determining your ability level before you sign up for a course. We encourage you to talk to a coach before booking, but attending a weekly drill is by no means compulsory.

Whites are for Wimbledon and while we all hope we can get there some day, we want you to bring your unique style to the court - the more colour the better!

Wearing the right shoes is really important though – having the wrong ones can hurt your feet and cause injury. Wear a comfortable pair of trainers - these will stop you from slipping and getting foot and ankle injuries.

When it comes to tennis kit, you can play in whatever you feel most comfortable in. Just remember you will be active – think t-shirts, shorts, tracksuit bottoms, sweatshirts.

For a beginner’s tennis racket, you don’t need to spend a lot of money – just look for a racket with a large head size. A larger racket head - between 95-110 square inches - will make it easier for you to hit the ball when you’re starting out.

You can also test different grip sizes to find a racket that’s right for you. Grip sizes range from one to five and to find your correct size follow this step. When you wrap your hand around the handle, there should be a one centimetre gap (or the width of your little finger) between your thumb and first finger.

The rule of thumb is to restring as many times each year as you average playing in one week. We recommend that you restring every six months as a minimum, to prevent tension loss.

Visual indicators that you need to restring your racket include grooves in the intersections of your strings.

For your own personal safety, if at any time you feel uncomfortable or unhappy, trust your instincts and share your concerns. Each of our sporting venues operates according to the ‘Safeguarding, Diversity and Inclusion’ policies as set out by the Governing Bodies for each of the sports played.

More information on our Welfare Officer and Safeguarding policies can be found here.