Tennis Courts

Tennis is centuries old. It most likely was invented in France in the 1100s, although the original version was a bit like volleyball. Racquets weren't used until 400 years later.

Roughly 900 years later, tennis is still being played all over the world. It's given us memorable players and incredible tennis courts.

Unfortunately, some of the most famous tennis courts are in Europe, Australia, or other parts of the world.

Where can you go if you're looking for something in North America, especially Canada?

Luckily, there are several great tennis courts in Atlantic Canada, and we'll talk about some of them in this post.

Type of Courts

Before we talk about notable tennis courts, we should go over the different types of tennis courts. The tennis world generally agrees that there are four types of tennis courts: clay, grass, hard, and carpet.

We won't be talking about carpet, though, because it's banned in professional play. You also won't find any of them in Atlantic Canada.

Clay

Clay courts, as the name implies, are made of clay or similar materials. It can be installed at a low cost and gives tennis balls extra bounce. It also requires a lot of maintenance, and there aren't many of them outside Europe. There two different forms: The red clay court is and the green clay court, also known as Har-Tru. The French Open is the only Grand Slam that uses a clay court. We have never found a red clay court in Atlantic Canada, but we have a few Har-Tru clay courts on our list.

Grass

Grass courts are the functional opposite of clay courts. They speed the ball up and limit bounce height, which favors faster players. While all four of the Grand Slam tournaments once used grass courts, Wimbledon is currently the only one that still features a grass court. However, grass requires a lot of upkeep and is very dependent on weather, so there aren't too many of them in use anymore. Read along to find out where you can play on the grass in Atlantic Canada.

Hard

Hard courts are a balance between bounce and speed, so players of all types should do well on them. Hard courts are one of the main types of courts commonly found at parks, recreation centers, clubs, and schools. Because of this and its low maintenance, these courts are becoming more popular. The US Open and the Australian Open are the only two Grand Slam tournaments that use a hard court surface.

Favourite Hard Courts

Charlottetown Tennis Club

Located in beautiful Victoria Park in Prince Edward Island, the Charlottetown Tennis Club offers eight tennis courts and they have 3 courts available on most days where people can play. 

Not only are these courts great to play on with beautiful views of the Northumberland Strait, it is one of the best venues to enjoy watching a junior tennis tournament. As a family, we have had many great memories at the Charlottetown Tennis Club.

Atlantic Tennis Centre

Located in Bedford, Nova Scotia the Atlantic Tennis Centre offers 6 indoor clay courts, 6 indoor hard courts and 6 outdoor hard courts.  This is a tennis haven in Atlantic Canada.  The facility opened in 2020 and it is definitely a must visit if you love to play tennis.

This place is truly the new ‘Mecca’ of tennis. Truly a state of the art tennis complex displaying the latest innovations to a classic sport. A ‘must experience’ for every tennis player.  We look forward to creating many tennis memories as a family here.

Photo credits: Architecture49

Tennis Moncton

The Tennis Moncton Club is located in Moncton, New Brunswick's beautiful Centennial Park. The club offers 8 outdoor hard courts, which were recently resurfaced. The club also provides the opportunity for public play for both members and non-members. Over the years, our family has played and practiced on these courts. It's a great outdoor facility, with a splash pad up the street. You really can't beat that combo.

Abony Family Tennis Centre

Located in Fredericton, New Brunswick the Abony Family Tennis Centre offers 6 indoor hard courts. Prior to the ATC being built in Bedford, the Abony Family Tennis Centre would have been the nicest indoor facility in Atlantic Canada. If this isn't your first time to our website, then you are very familiar with how often we have trained and played at the Abony Family Tennis Centre. The centre is very clean and there is lots of room to play. And if you are not playing and only watching, they have a great viewing area with a licensed bar.

Truro Tennis Club

For a small town with a population of just under 13,000, Truro, Nova Scotia boast a great outdoor facility at the Truro Tennis Club and a very nice indoor tennis facility, the Cougar Dome.

The Truro Tennis Club maintains 6 hard courts (4 lit with new LED lights) and a clubhouse. The Cougar Dome offers six full-size tennis courts (though two are only available for special events and covered by turf the rest of the time). Even though Truro is a small town, it has a great tennis history, with the Truro Lawn Tennis Club being established some time before 1890, making it one of the oldest surviving tennis clubs in Canada.

Favourite Clay Courts

Rothesay Tennis Club

If you live in or around New Brunswick like we do, the Rothesay Tennis Club might be for you. It offers four Har-tru courts nestled among the trees. We play and train often at these courts. The atmosphere here is second to none.

The added bounce offered by these courts makes it a great place to work on your groundstrokes. The Rothesay Tennis Club also host one of our favourite tournaments during the summer which is the NB Open. Our entire family loves attending this event while watching some of the best tennis Atlantic Canada can produce.

The Waegwoltic Club

Beautiful, award-winning and rich in tennis history. These terms all describe the Waegwoltic Club, located on the south side of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club plays host to the NS Open, the largest open tournament east of Montreal. There are 7 Har-tru clay courts and 3 hard courts.

Unlike other entries on this list, the Waegwoltic isn't dedicated specifically to tennis. However, they are great at teaching the sport and making it interesting. Between their children's Tennis Academy and adult-oriented lessons, they've won a Distinguished Service Award for helping increase interest in tennis.

St. George's Tennis Club

Nestled within a Central Dartmouth, Nova Scotia neighbourhood, specifically on St. George’s Lane.  The St. George's Tennis Club features five Har-Tru courts.  The clubhouse features a large deck perfect for unwinding after a hit or watching tournament play.

We love this club. It is a hidden gem in Dartmouth.  The courts are always well maintained and a pleasure to play on.

Favourite Grass Courts

Rustico Resort

As far as we know, these are the only public grass tennis courts in Eastern Canada and one of two in Canada. We stumbled across these courts a few years ago while we were at a family reunion on Prince Edward Island as the Rustico Resort.

If you want to get a feel of what it might be like to play at Wimbledon, this is the only place you can do that in Atlantic Canada. When we went, we were the only people there to play tennis. You also get a great view of the Rustico Bay while you are playing. This is a definite must of you want to bring out your inner Roger Federer.

The Best Tennis Courts in Canada

Hopefully this list is helpful in finding the next tennis court you play on in Atlantic Canada. There are plenty of great tennis courts in Atlantic Canada.

Have you played on any of these courts? Which are your favourites? Happy playing and training!