This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to London
Sure, hitting a backhand overhead smash is hard, but have you ever tried booking a tennis court at peak time in central London? Such are the challenges faced by the average park tennis player in the capital, among whose ranks I count myself. While I still haven’t mastered the former — many hours watching Rafa Nadal reels have done nada — I have at least found a solution to the latter in the form of the new generation of mobile tennis clubs, popping up at park courts across the city.
You can tell them by the clusters of twenty- and thirtysomething players, their energetic games and the music pumping from the speakers on the courtside. It’s all a cry from the Queen’s Club. If they look more like social events than sporting events, that’s entirely intentional. In fact, to call them “clubs” is a stretch for, unlike traditional clubs, they have no joining fees, no membership fees, no waiting list and no barriers to entry. In lieu of a physical clubhouse, they have their WhatsApp groups, where players swap racket recommendations, find a fourth for doubles or settle the GOAT debate once and for all (Serena, obviously).
Much like running clubs, from which they take their inspiration, these next-gen clubs are often as much about socialising (and dating) as they are about sport. They’re aimed at players of all levels, from total beginners who’ve never held a racket in their life to experienced players. Typically, they gather in the evenings and weekends, when courts are hardest to book.
Nicholas Andrews, the Australian founder of Forty Forty, a social tennis club based out of Highbury Fields in north London, believes the capital’s traditional clubs are falling short. “They’re either by definition exclusive, because they’re private clubs you can’t even afford to join or they’re public clubs with no culture or real reason to spend time there outside of your hour booking,” he say. “What Forty Forty, Bisque and others are doing is creating more of an experience around the game.”
Serving
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What: “A safe space on court for the LGBTQIA+ community”
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When: A two-hour session, one Saturday a month
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Where: Sydenham Tennis Club, Lawrie Park Road, London SE26 6ET
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Cost: From £5
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Capacity: Around 20 players across two or three courts
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FYI: Serving’s activities are off-court too. It recently hosted a post-tennis natural wine tasting and ran a tennis-specific workout involving dynamic weights, resistance training and footwork at Crank, a gym in Peckham
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How to book: Dates are announced on Serving’s Instagram account and WhatsApp group
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Contact: @serving_london; Directions
Serving is a queer tennis collective that meets once a month at Sydenham Tennis Club in south-east London; it held its first event in February 2025. Founder Gavin Hastings is a fashion writer and former junior player who recently came back to the game after a 10-year break. “Returning to tennis reminded me of old feelings and the kind of heteronormativity that comes with sports,” he says. “I felt that Serving was a necessary space. I want everyone to feel welcome.” The response has been very positive, particularly from queer women. Hastings, who is in the process of completing his LTA Level 2 coaching qualification, guides the sessions, starting with a warm-up, then drills and match play.
Ryan Catney, an events manager from Nunhead who hadn’t played tennis since his teens, signed up for a Serving session in pursuit of a new hobby. “Within the queer community, it’s quite easy to fall into partying and going out. It was nice to see a community that was trying to be built on something much more wholesome.” Catney got a kick out of the session and left with new connections and aching limbs: “I definitely noticed how rusty I was. But I really enjoyed it and left feeling that post-workout endorphin high.”
Next up for Serving: its first tournament this summer. “I think people want to compete,” says Hastings.
Back It
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What: “A mobile tennis club, creating community and bringing culture to the courts”
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When: A two-hour session one Saturday a month
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Where: Butterfly Tennis Club, 2D Camberwell Grove, Camberwell, London SE5 8RE
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Cost: From £10
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Capacity: Up to 28 players across two full-size courts and one mini-tennis court.
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FYI: With coaching from Black Tennis Mentors, Back It is particularly popular with players from the Black community but is open to all. Players repair afterwards to The Grove House Tavern next door for food, drinks and games
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How to book: Via the Eventbrite link posted on Back It’s social media
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Contact: @backit.uk; Directions
Former college tennis player and co-founder of Black Tennis Mentors (BTM) Jabilayh “Bee” Asante launched Back It last spring as an alternative to private clubs and all the hefty fees, waiting lists and long-term commitments that go along with them. She describes Back It sessions as “a crash course” in tennis. “I would call it a gateway to the sport,” she says, explaining that some players attend for the social aspect alone; others choose to pursue their tennis further outside of Back It. “I wanted to connect tennis players with tennis coaches without locking them into fees and [regular] sessions.”
The coaching is delivered by Arum Akom, head coach at Butterfly Tennis Club and a co-founder of Black Tennis Mentors, and a team of BTM coaches. “We keep it flowing really fast, with lots of rotations and games and music playing,” says Akom. “It’s almost like a high-intensity cardio tennis session.”
Jamarah Irish, a primary school teacher from west London, found out about Back It when she was looking for a group sport to get into. She’s a beginner and is in her own words “hit and miss, literally”, but she has seen an improvement. “You get an opportunity for one-to-one feedback within the group session, and they’re not holding back,” she says. “They really want to see you improve and they love to see you doing well.” I’ve hit with Akom myself and can confirm there are no free points with him. He’ll push you.
Forty Forty
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What: “A social tennis club creating better tennis culture”
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When: Up to five one-hour sessions a week on evenings, weekends and Friday lunchtimes
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Where: Highbury Fields Tennis Courts, Highbury Fields, London N5 1PQ
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Cost: £13
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Capacity: Eight players on one court, led by a coach
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FYI: Forty Forty runs three types of sessions: “Form” is ideal for beginners; “Tempo” is a drill-based workout to music that suits all levels; and “Rally” is structured gameplay. It also runs its own doubles league and recently hosted its first dating event (called “Singles”, naturally) and a retreat at a private estate in Wales
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How to book: At fortyforty.club. The timetable is posted weekly on Instagram and the group’s WhatsApp (details on Forty Forty’s Instagram)
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Contact: @fortyfortytennis; Directions
Forty Forty founder Nicholas Andrews had it made in Australia: “I was spending AU$40 [$25/£19] a month to be a member at Melbourne Park [home of the Australian Open] and play on the same courts as Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams. I had an amazing community. Any night of the week I could find eight great people to play with. It was easy.”
It was a shock, then, to move to London in 2022 and try to join a club, only to encounter long waiting lists and four-figure fees. So Andrews started his own club, Forty Forty, with coach Andy Barker. Since its launch in 2023, it has welcomed more than 300 players, the majority of whom are female.
Classes are either hosted by a coach or by Andrews himself (a more encouraging presence on court you won’t find). There are also occasional masterclasses with WTA player Lauryn John-Baptiste, whose game is a wonder to behold.
Banking consultant Sarah Coyle is a regular. Forty Forty has reignited her childhood love of tennis. “I did pick up a racket when I was living in New York, but I didn’t know a whole lot of people who played tennis so I was just hitting a tennis ball against a wall. Now I’m actually playing real people again.”
Says Andrews: “Tennis is not just the time you spend on the court. It’s the friends you make, the coffee you have afterwards. It’s all these little things that make it so beautiful.”
Bisque Tennis Club
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What: “A tennis lifestyle brand, built on community, on and off the court”
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When: Two-hour sessions on Saturdays and Sundays. Times vary
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Where: Bisque’s roots are in London’s SW postcodes — Battersea, Streatham, Fulham, Clapham — but they’re branching out to east and north London this season. They have also held events in Brighton and Budapest
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Cost: £10
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Capacity: Usually 40 players over three or four courts
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FYI: Après-tennis drinks take place either at a café or a pub, depending on the time of day. Off-court meet-ups might involve watching rugby at a pub or having a picnic in the park. Bisque is hosting its first tennis getaway this summer to Barcelona and is planning a group queue at Wimbledon.
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How to book: At bisquetennisclub.com. Sessions book up within the hour
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Contact: @bisque.tennis.club
Twins Alejandro and Sebastian Zepeda, both former nationally ranked players, founded Bisque in summer 2024 with their friend Alex Chalder. If you’re wondering about the curious name, a “bisque” in tennis has nothing to do with shellfish soup; it’s a term borrowed from the game’s old handicap system, that can help a weaker player best a stronger one. It speaks to the approachability that is built into Bisque’s energetic, music-soundtracked sessions.
“We got the inspiration from run clubs,” says Alejandro Zepeda. “We would play at the park and see groups of runners running together and we thought, ‘Gosh, there’s nothing really like this for tennis unless you’re part of a club.’ [Even then] you’re not always guaranteed that sort of community, and that can be quite daunting for new players.”
Bisque’s format involves warm-ups and tennis games such as Around the World (think of it as “relay” tennis) and King of the Court (a knockout game), followed by an hour of competitive play for prizes, led by the two coaches. “It’s really a way for people to come together and hit as many balls as possible and let go of anything that’s going on [in their lives],” says Zepeda. “We always follow up with a post-tennis social.”
Net Socials
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What: “A social tennis community, in London and beyond”
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When: Friday, 7pm-8.30pm during the peak tennis season from May to September; Saturday and Sunday, 10.30am-noon during the off-season
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Where: Clapham Common is the group’s regular base, but Net Socials has held pop-ups at five locations across London (Bethnal Green, Waterlow Park, Regent’s Park and Ravenscourt Park) and they are hoping to expand to 15 this summer
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Cost: From £5
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Capacity: 24 to 60 players per location. In Net Socials’ busiest week last summer, it had five sessions going simultaneously, with 145 tickets sold
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FYI: Net Socials does a lot of mingling off-court. A Christmas ball, Valentine’s Mixer, watch parties, masterclasses and end-of-season party are set to become regular events
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How to book: Join the WhatsApp group (via the Net Socials Instagram) to receive a link. Tickets are released on Sundays at 7pm and are snapped up in minutes
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Contact: netsocials.co, @netsocials
Monique Pace, a corporate strategist from New Zealand who grew up playing tennis, started a WhatsApp group “with 30 mates” in May 2024 to organise the occasional hit. Word spread, and Net Socials has a WhatsApp community of around 2,000 players at the time of writing. Pace and co-founder Nadia Ionescu-Blower, a fashion account manager, now run sellout sessions every week. “There is such an electrifying feeling about seeing 60 people on the courts having fun,” says Pace.
Theirs is a purely social tennis model, with activities guided by their “community leads” rather than coaches. A guided warm-up is followed by easy-to-learn tennis games such as King of the Court and Dingles (a fast-paced hybrid of singles and doubles). “What we’ve realised is that adults love organised fun,” observes Pace. Then, after slugging it out on court, players hit the pub. “99 per cent will come for a drink afterwards. That’s when we know we’ve done a good job.”
Laura Bisson, a teacher, moved to Fulham from Yorkshire last September. In her first week in the capital, she stepped on court with Net Socials and now has a posse of tennis pals. “Obviously, a run you can do by yourself; tennis you can’t just rock up by yourself,” she says. However, as a solid club player who has played since school, she would love to join a private tennis club in London. “I’m still struggling to find one, to be honest. It’s really hard to get in anywhere.”
Have you tried one of London’s new social tennis clubs? Tell us in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter to find out about our latest stories first
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