Listed: The best places to play tennis in Essex for those inspired by Wimbledon
The whack and thunk of hitting a tennis ball is a sound like no other, and the crisp smell of a fresh pack of the iconic yellow balls is unmatched.
The sport offers numerous health benefits, including improved cardiovascular health, stronger bones, enhanced coordination and balance, weight management, and a positive effect on mental health.
Whether you're a seasoned tennis player or a complete novice, we've listed some great local spots to pick up a racket across Essex.
Play - Leisure World has spaces for several sporting activities (Image: Newsquest)
Leisure World Tennis Centre, Colchester
With six floodlit tarmac courts available to play tennis year round, visitors can pay for membership or hire by the hour.
Both experienced players and beginners can enjoy the game, with racket hire available.
Colchester Tennis Academy
This academy offers a junior programme with an extensive range of groups for four to 18-year-olds. It was born out of a simple idea: 'To bring high quality, accessible and affordable tennis to the entire community'.
Spring Lane Tennis Club, Colchester
This club welcomes players of all standards to join and fosters a modern, friendly, and "non-elitist" atmosphere. The club encourages new members and novices to join them and offers group coaching as well as club sessions.
Dedham Tennis Club
Offering club sessions on Sunday mornings, this club a few miles north of Colchester has three all-weather tennis courts. It is a community club in the heart of a beautiful village green offering tennis for all.
Support - Many clubs in Essex offer coaching and youth sessions (Image: Web)Braintree Lawn Tennis Club
This club, based in Clockhouse Way, is the self-proclaimed home of friendly tennis in Braintree.
Both adult and junior members can enjoy coaching, both in group sessions and individual lessons, as well as the social side of being part of a club.
Gosfield Lawn Tennis Club
Located about three miles north of Braintree, this club has four hard courts, two of which are floodlit.
Offering coaching for all ages and abilities, the club enters mens, ladies and mixed teams in local leagues during the summer.
Braintree and Bocking Public Gardens
These two courts are in the heart of the public gardens and offer a tranquil and picturesque setting for a summer game of tennis.
The courts can be booked online for £7 an hour and are open from 9am to 8pm from May through to August.
Health - Tennis offers a variety of health benefits (Image: Web)Baker Tennis Academy, Witham
This academy in Spinks Lane offers coaching for all ages and skill levels and 'fun whilst learning'. With games, drills, and a bit of competition, the team provides motivational, active and fun tennis coaching sessions to all.
Wickham Bishops Tennis Club
This club aims to create a positive and friendly environment where everyone feels welcome and inspired to improve their tennis skills.
Members for the club in Great Totham Road can meet new people, have fun, and improve their tennis game together.
Prested Real Tennis Club, Feering
Based at Prested Hall, this popular wedding venue boasts Real Tennis (sometimes known as Royal Tennis), Padel Tennis, and lawn tennis courts.
Real Tennis is an indoor racket sport originating from the Tudors, from which lawn tennis has evolved. Prested Hall has two of only 27 Real Tennis courts in the UK.
Earls Colne Tennis Club
Earls Colne Tennis Club is part of the Earls Colne Recreation Club. With four floodlit courts and a thriving mini and junior section, the club also offers family memberships for its members to play socially or competitively.
Maldon Tennis Club
The club in Park Drive is also run by Baker Tennis Academy and offers bookings for the courts in Promenade Park at £10 an hour for non-members.
Members can enjoy unlimited court bookings at no extra cost.
Scenic - Everyone can enjoy a game at Maldon Promenade Park's tennis courts (Image: Newsquest)Little Clacton Tennis Club
Members at this club vary considerably in ages and aspirations, with several mixed-in sessions every week to meet other members. The club also offers coaching and fun and serious tournaments throughout the year.
Clacton Leisure Centre
Tennis courts are available to book at this leisure centre, for £13.65 per adult.
Kirby Tennis Club
This club in Halstead Road is located at Kirby Playing Fields with four recently refurbished outdoor hard courts, with floodlights available on three courts.
The club encourages anyone in the area to come and try tennis.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Andre Agassi snaps at commentator over celebrity questions in awkward Wimbledon moment
Andre Agassi is at Wimbledon to talk tennis, not to fawn over celebrities. The legendary former player made that abundantly clear during Friday's men's semifinal matches, growing increasingly frustrated at his BBC co-announcer, Andrew Castle, who kept bringing up the VIPs in attendance at Centre Court. Advertisement Agassi is known for his insightful analysis and ability to break down the game to viewers, but Castle kept shepherding the conversation toward the stars in the Royal Box. Andre Agassi at the French Open on June 8. Juergen Hasenkopf/Shutterstock The celebrities on hand included actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Benedict Cumberbatch and Rami Malek, Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and other notable figures. One particularly awkward moment during the thrilling semifinal between Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz began when Agassi tried to make a point about the on-court play. 'I can just make one comment here that's short of a prediction, we saw Taylor go to another level of risk with his serve, which dropped his percentage but then paid off for him…We saw him go to another level of risk with the backhand … go ahead if you want to say something,' Agassi said before Castle butted in. 'That's Elaine Paige, she's a musical theatre star, but she's also president of the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust, they support disabled tennis very much,' Castle said, to which Agassi awkwardly replied that he did not know who they were. Advertisement Castle didn't seem to take the hint, joking: 'Let's test. This is Andre Agassi and this is 'Guess the royal box member.'' Rami Malek (left) and Benedict Cumberbatch were among the celebrities in the Royal Box at Wimbledon on July 11, 2025. WireImage An exasperated Agassi responded: 'Don't torture me. Let me finish my point.' Agassi continued to make his point about Fritz's serve from there, until Castle jutted in yet again: 'OK, that's great. That was Nick Clegg, our former deputy prime minster.' Andre Agassi grew frustrated at BBC commentator Andrew Castle (pictured). Getty Images That comment was enough to get Agassi to truly snap, with the six-time major champion saying, 'People watching are watching for tennis, not for this.' Similar moments between the two commentators took place throughout the broadcast, with Agassi reiterating to Castle at one point: 'Do not ask me about people that you show on television because this is my weakness.' Advertisement Alcaraz will face Jannik Sinner, who made quick work of Novak Djokovic in the other semifinal, in a highly anticipated final on Sunday. Andre Agassi wanted to talk about the match between Taylor Fritz (left) and Carlos Alcaraz (right), not celebrities. AP Alcaraz and Sinner had an epic French Open final on Sunday with Alcaraz fending off multiple match points to rally down two sets to claim the title at Roland Garros.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Jannik Sinner, Girlfriend Shared Public Kiss Before Breakup
Tennis star Jannik Sinner is not married, and he doesn't even have a girlfriend, at least as far as anyone knows. But he once did have a girlfriend, a very prominent one in fact, and they shared some PDA. Advertisement In fact, a kiss between Sinner and his then girlfriend, tennis star Anna Kalinskaya was captured in a series of photos published by Getty Images. The kiss came in 2024 after Sinner defeated Taylor Fritz to win the men's singles final at the U.S. Open that year. But the relationship was not to be, and Sinner said in May that he is no longer in a relationship. He also previously dated a model named Maria Braccini, and he has swatted down rumors that he was seeing another model named Lara Leito. Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates with his girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya after defeating Taylor Fritz of the United States to win the Men's Singles Final on Day Fourteen of the 2024 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 08, 2024 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York to People, Sinner confirmed that he was dating Kalinskaya, a professional tennis player from Russia, in May 2024. The U.S. Open kiss came in September 2024. Advertisement They were also seen together at Wimbledon, the site reports. However, a year later, the relationship was confirmed to be over, when Sinner told the media that he was single at a post-match press conference, People reported. Sinner made it clear in an interview with Vanity Fair Italia that it can be difficult to be a professional tennis player and have a relationship. That interview was in June 2024. "Of course, it's not easy, I travel a lot and during tournaments, I'm very focused. But I think it's a beautiful thing when you find the right love. Like for everyone," he said to the publication. "And then, if you think about it, the best tennis players in the world all have wives and children." According to WTA Tennis, Kalinskaya is currently ranked #39 in the world among women's tennis players. Sinner, of course, is ranked #1 among the men and is playing in the Wimbledon final on July 13 against Carlos Alcaraz as his star continues to rise. Related: Jannik Sinner & Carlos Alcaraz Girlfriend History: Are They Married or Single? Jannik Sinner, Girlfriend Shared Public Kiss Before Breakup first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 13, 2025
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Nick Kyrgios posts cryptic message after Jannik Sinner wins Wimbledon championship
Nick Kyrgios isn't too fired up about Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon title. Following Sinner's, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, win Sunday over Carlos Alcaraz in the final, Kyrgios took to X with a cryptic, one-character message about the victory by the world's top-ranked player: an asterisk. Advertisement Kyrgios is likely referencing the fact that Sinner was previously suspended for doping, using his asterisk message as a way to discredit the win. Sinner, the No. 1 men's singles player, tested positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, twice in 2024. 4 Nick Kyrgios last competed in March at the Miami Open, where he bowed out in the round of 64. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Advertisement The Italian wound up serving a three-month suspension from February to early May this year in a settlement with the World Doping Agency. Kyrgios and Sinner have some history that goes beyond the two competing on the court. 4 Jannik Sinner hoists the Wimbledon trophy. AP Sinner used to have a relationship with Anna Kalinskaya, Kyrgios' ex. Advertisement Responding to a photo of Kalinskaya and Sinner in 2024, Kyrgios wrote, 'second serve,' implying that he was Kalinskaya's stronger, 'first serve,' while Sinner was the weaker option — her 'second serve.' Kyrgios was also calling for a two-year suspension for Sinner after his doping tests. 4 Kyrgios watches Wimbledon from the stands. AP Clearly, there's some animosity there — at least on one side of the equation. Advertisement Head to head, Sinner won in 2022 against Kyrgios in the pair's lone contest against one another. The 30-year-old Kyrgios has never won a Grand Slam title, and has battled injury since the end of 2022. He's posted a 1-4 record in 2025, didn't compete in 2024 and lost his only match in 2023. 4 Sinner took down Alcaraz in four sets in the Wimbledon final on Sunday. REUTERS As for Sinner, he is up to four Grand Slam titles following his Wimbledon victory. His Wimbledon win over Alcaraz was a triumphant one, as he suffered a wild collapse in the French Open final against Alcaraz a month ago, but managed to get the job done this time around for his first Wimbledon championship.
