St Ann’s Tennis hosts two members’ club sessions a week:

Sundays, 2pm-5pm, on courts 1, 2, 3 & 4. Drop In. Members Only.

Fridays 6-8pm on courts 1, 2, 3 & 4. (Only during the summer months: April – August) Not currently operating Online booking required, one week advanced booking. Members Only.

These sessions are not for beginners. Players must, at least, be able to comfortably serve and rally.

Club sessions are fun, social tennis gatherings, an opportunity to enjoy tennis doubles competition with fellow St Ann’s Tennis members. Here are some frequently asked questions about club sessions.

Updates: news about Club Sessions (eg. forthcoming sessions, weather cancellations etc) will be published on the St Ann’s Club Members WhatsApp group.

Who can attend St Ann’s club sessions?
Club sessions are for registered St Ann’s Tennis club members – so full adult, or student or junior members. If you’re not a club member and interested in joining in, please let us know in advance by emailing admin@stannstennis.co.uk and we’ll add you to the list for a free introductory session. If you are interested in joining St Ann’s Tennis, please click here. Annual membership at St Ann’s Tennis offers unbeatable value enabling you to play on all eight courts free of charge, with seven-day priority booking.

What do we play?
Club sessions are all about doubles, with semi-random pairings chosen according to availability and standard. Just show up and you’ll be paired with someone. There will usually be someone on court to manage the session,  matching up players so everyone gets to play and each doubles ‘team’ is as balanced as possible. When there are more players than spaces on court, we will rotate players.

What about tennis balls?
St Ann’s Tennis will provide tennis balls for club sessions: four balls per court. Please do not use your own tennis balls – this just confuses things, and presents problems when someone wants to leave with their own balls. Please gather balls and return them at the end of each session.

How does it work?
Each doubles ‘set’ is seven games in total, regardless of the score. So it could be 0-7, 1-6, 2-5, 3-4 etc. We start with a brief warm up, and a spin to determine which side serves. Pairs switch ends after 4 games (after each player has served once). Whatever happens, the set is only over after seven full games. As a general rule, you will only play one set with a particular partner so that you get a chance to play with and meet other members. You can play as many sets as you like. Remember – it’s just for fun!

Is there coaching?
No. It’s just about taking part. But you’ll probably learn a lot about doubles play the more you play. Please see our Coaching page for information about lessons.

What if I am not very good?
The minimum level at Club sessions is “intermediate”, so not beginners, but improvers (at least) who can serve and maintain a rally, plus intermediate and advanced players who enjoy half decent doubles competition. Remember that pairings will be made (informally) to ensure that – where possible – not-so-good players are paired with stronger players so that each pairing is as even as possible. And if you lose 0-7, who cares? It really doesn’t matter. If you’re not sure what standard you are, don’t be shy – come along and give it a try!