Courts aren't the hard part in Christchurch. Finding someone to hit with, week after week, is.
Cold-messaging a stranger on a court rarely goes anywhere. The easier route is to turn up somewhere that pairs people up for you, then follow through with the person who suits.
Places that do the pairing
Hagley Park Social Tennis runs on Wednesdays from 6pm to 8pm at Te Kura Hagley Park Tennis Club, off Riccarton Ave. The organiser sets up three or four doubles games of 25 to 40 minutes each, so you play with and against a handful of different people in one evening. Balls are provided and it's $10. You need some match experience and the confidence to serve, rally and keep score.
Burwood Park Tennis Club says it will match you up for doubles at its weekly social tennis, and that singles can be set up too. Sessions are Saturday 12pm to 5pm, Tuesday 10am to 11:30am, Wednesday 5pm to 7pm and Thursday 5:30pm to 8pm. Non-members can try up to three sessions free.
St Albans has Wednesday twilight tennis from 6pm, Thursday social from 1:30pm and a Saturday club day from 1:30pm. For casual games, visitors may play as a guest of a paid-up senior member, up to five times a season, at $5 per session.
Waimairi runs organised social play on Saturday afternoons and Wednesday evenings, plus a more relaxed midweek hit on Tuesdays. They offer a free trial.
Opening hours change with the season, so check each club's page before you go.
Once you've met someone
It’s easy to leave it there. You have a good night, say "we should do this again" and never do.
Ask for a number before you leave. Suggest one specific slot, like Thursday after work, rather than "sometime". A fixed weekly time tends to survive a bad week better than a vague plan.
Also worth asking: what do you want from a hit? Some people want a hard rally, others want a game of singles, and mixing them up is one way partnerships fade.
Have a second court in mind for wet days.
A partner at your level
Tennis is more fun when the ball comes back. Someone much stronger gets bored, someone much weaker spends the hour chasing balls.
If you're unsure of your level, Tennis NZ's World Tennis Number rates players from their match results, so it's a number people can compare. You don't need one, and describing yourself plainly works too: how long you've played, whether you rally comfortably, whether you've played matches.
Why this matters
Club sessions can help you meet people. Finding someone at your level for a time that suits you is a different problem.
That's the gap we're building Hitter for.
More at hitter.nz.
