Well, let me tell you, if you’re in Paris and you wanna play some tennis, you got places to go. I heard about this Roland Garros. Big fancy name, right? Sounds like a place where them rich folks go to whack a ball around. They say it’s where the French Open is. Now, what’s the French Open? Sounds like a door that won’t shut properly, if you ask me.
But I guess it’s some big tennis thing. They play it there every year, ’round May or June, someone told me. Sounds like a good time to visit, unless you don’t like crowds. Me? I don’t like crowds. Too many elbows and people stepping on your toes.
Now, if you ain’t got the money for that Roland Garros, don’t you worry. Paris, that big city, got other places to play. I seen a list somewhere. Got all these names I can barely pronounce. Let me see if I can remember some.
- Tennis Club de Vaugirard. Sounds like a mouthful, don’t it?
- Tennis Club de Paris. Well, that’s easy enough to remember. Paris, like the city.
- Tennis Club Poliveau. Another one of them fancy names.
- Tennis des Jardins du Luxembourg. Sounds like a garden. Maybe they got pretty flowers there too.
- Terrains de Tennis Championnet. Championnet. Like a champion, maybe?
Yeah, that’s what that paper said. Some of them places are for fancy club members, you gotta be part of the club. Some other places anyone can play, I think that is called public courts. They ain’t free, though, I don’t think. Nothing’s free these days, not even air, it seems. These are good places if you want to play tennis in Paris. They are very famous.
I also heard about this place, the Jardin du Luxembourg. Another garden. Maybe they got tennis courts in all the gardens in Paris. Makes sense, I guess. Nice place to play, I suppose, surrounded by trees and flowers. Bet it smells nice there, too. Except when someone’s been sweating buckets playing tennis.
Then there’s that Centre Sportif Paul Valry. Sounds important, with a name like that. I don’t know who this Paul Valry fella is, but he must be somebody to have a sports place named after him. They got a tennis court there, too, I heard. Probably indoors, where to find a tennis court in Paris. All these fancy places probably got roofs over the courts. Keep the rain out, I suppose. We used to just play in the dirt, rain or shine. Didn’t bother us none.
Someone was talkin’ ’bout clay courts, hard courts. What’s the difference, I asked ’em. They said clay is like dirt, but fancy dirt. And hard courts are, well, hard. Like concrete, I guess. The French Open, that big thing at Roland Garros, they play on clay. Other big games, like the ones in America and Australia, they play on hard courts. Don’t make much difference to me. A court’s a court, far as I can tell. But the French Open is also called Rolland-Garros, weird.
Now, this is something I heard that made me chuckle. They got something called Paris Tennis. Sounds like a website or somethin’. They say it’s the best way to find a place to play for an hour a week. I reckon that’s good for people who just wanna hit the ball around a bit, not get all serious about it. Like me, back in the day. We didn’t have no fancy websites, we just played where we could. And there are many courts in Paris. Over 180, I think, crazy right?
So, there you have it. If you’re in Paris and you wanna play tennis, you got choices. Fancy places like Roland Garros, garden places, places with names you can’t pronounce. Just find yourself a court, grab a racket, and have some fun. Don’t matter if it’s clay or hard, indoors or outdoors. Just hit that ball and enjoy yourself. That’s what tennis is all about, ain’t it? Having a good time. And maybe getting a little exercise while you’re at it.
Just remember to bring some water, especially if it’s hot. And watch out for them French folks, they might be good at tennis. Heard they got some good players over there. Don’t let ’em beat you too bad. Unless you like losing, I guess. Some people do. Not me, though. I always liked to win. Even if it was just a friendly game in the dirt, back home.
One more thing, I don’t know how to use those computer things to book a tennis time, but I’m sure you can find out. That Paris Tennis website thing is probably a good place to look. Or you can ask around. People in Paris are probably used to folks asking where to play tennis. It’s a big tennis city, from what I hear. So go find yourself a court and have a good time. Don’t forget your racket!
