Alright, so the weather started getting unpredictable, you know how it is. One minute it’s fine, the next it’s pouring rain, or just freezing cold. Really messes with trying to get a regular game of tennis in. I got tired of cancelling sessions or just getting soaked. I thought to myself, there must be some covered courts around here, right? Somewhere you can play without worrying about the sky falling.
My Search Kicked Off
So, I did what most folks would do first. Grabbed my phone, opened up a browser, and typed in the obvious: “covered tennis courts near me”. Pretty straightforward. The results started popping up. Lots of map pins, some listings for sports centers, that kind of thing. It wasn’t exactly clear right away which ones were actually covered versus just regular outdoor courts listed on some directory.
I started clicking through some of the results. Some were clearly private clubs. You could just tell from the names and the fancy descriptions. Probably needed a membership that costs a fortune, wasn’t really what I was after. I was looking for something more casual, pay-and-play style if possible.
Digging a Bit Deeper
I realized just searching the basic phrase wasn’t cutting it. Needed to refine things. I tried adding terms like “public”, “pay per play”, “indoor tennis”. That helped filter out some of the super exclusive places. I also switched to looking directly on map apps, zooming into my local area and specifically searching for “tennis center” or “sports complex” and then checking their details or photos to see if they had covered structures.
What I found was a real mix:
- Some places had these big inflatable domes, only up during the winter months.
- Others were permanent structures, like proper buildings specifically for indoor courts.
- A few were just regular outdoor courts that happened to be part of a bigger sports center which also had other indoor facilities, causing confusion.
The information wasn’t always great online. Sometimes you couldn’t tell the price, or how to even book a court. Do I need to call? Is there an online system? Is it always booked solid?
Getting Down to Brass Tacks
So, I picked out two or three that looked promising – seemed accessible, not outrageously far, and potentially offered pay-per-use. For one place, their website was useless for booking, so I had to actually call them. Talked to someone, got the hourly rate, found out booking had to be done over the phone and they were pretty busy evenings and weekends. Okay, noted.
Another place, a local leisure center, actually had a decent online booking system tucked away on the council website. Took a bit of clicking around to find it, but I could see availability and prices right there. That felt much easier. The price was reasonable too, compared to the private club vibe I got elsewhere.
Found One and Tried It
I decided to try the leisure center one first because booking online was just less hassle. Signed up, booked an hour for the following weekend. Getting there was easy enough, plenty of parking.
The court itself? It was decent. Not Wimbledon, obviously. It was a permanent structure, sort of like a big warehouse feel, but the lighting was good, the surface was fine, and most importantly, it was dry! We could just play tennis without checking the weather app every five minutes. It wasn’t busy when I went, but I guess booking ahead is smart.
So yeah, the process took a bit more effort than just a quick search. Had to sift through results, make a few calls, navigate some clunky websites. But in the end, I found a solid option to keep playing through the bad weather months. Definitely worth the digging around.
