City partners with St. Catharines Tennis Club to program renewed Community Park tennis courts

A partnership between the City and the re-established St. Catharines Tennis Club marks the rebirth of organized tennis in St. Catharines on the newly revitalized tennis courts at Community Park in Merritton.

The City has upgraded the three existing tennis courts at the park and added a fourth court with the support of a $40,000 contribution from the St. Catharines Tennis Club. Tennis court lighting and fencing was replaced, and hard surface connections added. Temporary lines have been painted, with permanent lines scheduled to be painted on May 20, depending on weather. The tennis project falls under the City’s Parks Renewal Plan and was undertaken in consultation with Merritton Lions Club. A grand reopening of the tennis courts in Community Park is planned for June.

“We’re thrilled to enter this first-of-its kind community partnership with a local tennis organization,” Eric Lamothe, Manager, Community Initiatives and Partnerships, said of the St. Catharines Tennis Club. “This renewal project will be transformative for the tennis community in St. Catharines. It’s the latest example of the amazing things we can accomplish together.”

For more than a decade, St. Catharines had been without a community-based tennis club, said Chris Richard, President of the St. Catharines Tennis Club, when a group called the St. Catharines Tennis Alliance formed in 2021 to bring organized tennis back to the city.

“We’re excited about growing the sport of tennis in our community,” Richard said. “This partnership with the City allows us to have a summer outdoor club. Really, we wouldn’t be able to do it (without the City).

“If the City wasn’t prepared to step up and not only resurface these courts, but expand them to four courts, we simply couldn’t exist. There’s no other courts in the city we could have operated on,” Richard added.

The St. Catharines Tennis Club’s inaugural season opened April 12, with play scheduled through the end of October. The club offers a full slate of leagues that will operate at night, including women’s on Mondays, men’s on Wednesdays, mixed men’s and women’s on Thursdays, and a drop-in league on Fridays. Youth programming is also offered, by qualified Ontario Tennis Association (OTA) coaches.

The club has hired Tennis Professional Dominika Zuzanska, a coach with more than three years’ experience, who coaches beginners learning the basics to competitive athletes honing their skills. Zuzanska spent more than seven years as a tennis competitor.

Registration for tennis club membership is now open and includes access to club facilities, the ability to play in a range of adult leagues and to attend club activities and social events. Membership is $120 or $100 with a CAA membership. Currently, there are 150 members.

Tennis club hours are Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to noon and from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Public hours are Monday to Friday, noon to 4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

“We’re not even playing yet and already there are 150 members, and we’re absolutely delighted,” Rosemary Goodwin, Chair, Southwest Region, Ontario Tennis Association, and member of the St. Catharines Tennis Club said. “Chris has put together wide-reaching programming for children and adults of all ages. It’s just really impressive. I have high hopes for it. I hope the neighbourhood is going to love it.”

In 1890, the St. Catharines Tennis Club was one of few clubs to act as signatories to the creation of Tennis Canada, known then as the Canadian Lawn Tennis Association, Goodwin said.

When the century-old St. Catharines Tennis Club was at its peak, the city hosted national tournaments with some of the best tennis players in the world competing, Goodwin added.

“We’re back on the map,” Goodwin said. “Tennis lives again in St. Catharines.”