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Tennis
is a very active sport in Naples, FL. Nearly all of
Naples' Country Clubs have tennis programs run by a
USTA tennis professional, with beautiful Har-tru (clay)
courts. Some clubs also have hard courts available in
addition to the preferred clay surface.
Many of the clubs are "bundled" - which
means that club membership is included with the purchase
of your home. If you were a tennis player "only," you
wouldn't normally think it rational to purchase in a
"bundled" golf community, but it is done. Often the
fees are very reasonable and the golf /tennis membership
is an attractive sales feature. Monthly dues can be
as low as $100 which includes features such as golf,
tennis, fitness, clubhouse, driving range, restaurant,
computer rooms, etc.
There are several "bundled" tennis communities
in Naples with minimal fees and residents have the benefit
of tennis at a very low cost. The World Tennis Club
is a community where tennis membership is included with
home purchase. Monthly dues include all of your tennis
amenities (unlimited with free court time), custom backboard
(practice area), restaurant and bar facilities, beautiful
swimming pool, locker rooms and clubhouse.
The World Tennis Center is centrally
located in Naples and has condominiums, villas and single
family homes ranging in price from approximately $90,000.00
for a 2 bedroom/2 bath condo to large villas and single
family homes ranging from 150,000.00 to 300,000.00.
Surrounding communities such as Grey Oaks, Kensington
and Banyon Woods include homes in the 500,000.00 to
one million-dollar ranges. There are several other tennis
communities that are structured in different ways. Sterling
Oaks, Naples Bath and Tennis, Longshore Lakes and Carlton
Lakes are all facilities that include tennis lessons,
programs and an on-site professional - all at a very
reasonable cost. Home prices run from the low 100,000's
to 500,000+.
World Tennis Club
Gated community, fully staffed tennis pro shop with
on-site professional, restaurant, workout area. 16 tennis
courts/12 lighted/ 11 har-tru, 5 hard court.
Naples Bath & Tennis
Gated community, fully staffed tennis pro shop with
on-site professional, restaurant, new fitness center.
38 tennis courts/10 lighted/37 har-tru, 1 hard court.
Sterling Oaks
Gated community, fully staffed tennis pro shop with
on-site professional, restaurant. 12 har-tru courts/10
lighted. Longshore Lakes
Gated community, fully staffed pro shop with on site
professional, restaurant. 9 lighted har-tru tennis courts.
Carlton Lakes
Gated community, active tennis group, tennis shop, no
professional 4 lighted har-tru tennis courts.
PUBLIC TENNIS Public tennis
centers in Naples are numerous and some of the best anywhere.
The Naples Park system is remarkable with groomed soccer
fields, sand volleyball, roller hockey rinks, grass infields
on baseball diamonds, cloth nets on basketball courts
and beautiful hard and clay tennis courts. One of the
parks even has hydro-watered Har-tru courts. The local
YMCA is a tremendous facility and boasts the Beckler Tennis
Center with 10 Har-tru courts. Tennis tournaments are
common in Naples, from the amateur level to the professional.
The Nuveen Masters is held every year in Naples. John
McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, Johann Kriek and many
other top senior professionals play in the event. The
YMCA holds the largest amateur tournament in Southwest
Florida (The North Naples Clay Court Championships) with
as many as 700 entries. Divisions from 3.0 to 5.0 to open
professionals play singles, men's, women's and mixed doubles.
The Naples City Tournament is held yearly at Cambier Park.
Although it not as large as the North Naples Clay Court
Championships, it is very well run and includes age divisions
for seniors. The Florida Section
of the USTA is one of the largest and best in the country.
Adult and junior tournaments are abundant in the Southwest
Florida area. Statewide, there are adult tournaments
nearly every weekend and sometimes two or three in every
age division from 25 to 80+. In regard to junior tennis,
Florida turns out some of the best young players in
the world. It is easy to see how many opportunities
there are for junior players. There are adult and junior
tennis camps all over the state.
There are also a large number of tennis
leagues in the Naples area, and making tennis connections
is easy. For the avid tennis player, young or old, Naples
is the place to be.
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