I was itching to try out the tennis courts at Léo Lagrange near the Porte de Charenton in the 12th arrondissement after visiting a flat just opposite. It wasn't exactly a court-side seat, but you could certainly see the stadium and it would be a two-minute walk at most. My husband wasn't keen on the area, but with the Bois de Vincennes on the doorstep and great sporting facilities a stone's throw away I felt he was writing it off too quickly. The Centre Sportif Léo Lagrange has just about everything you could ask for in a sports centre - football pitches, basketball and handball courts and an athletics track - and most importantly six tennis courts and also a practice wall. It is also the first place we have played that feels less like a huge municipal facility and more like an English tennis club with lots of lawns and flowerbeds to soften the hard lines with the woods of the Bois de Vincennes as a backdrop. A particularly pretty planting scheme along one side of the court reminded me I was missing the Chelsea Flower Show and it was Chelsea weather too - sunny, but rather blowy with the constant threat of a shower.
We had booked one of the five concrete courts, but the man on reception let us switch our booking to court number 6 - a green astroturf carpet with a liberal sprinkling of sand. We'd passed it on the way in and I wanted to try it as it is the closest thing I'll get to grass in Paris unless I can persuade someone to let me play on the court at the British Embassy. It took a bit of getting used to - the bounce wasn't great, but it made for an interesting game, forcing me to get to the net and volley with surprising success.
9 out of 10 for this court and with six to choose from you are relatively sure of a booking - though I'm not sure it will be enough to persuade my husband to buy the flat opposite!
68 Boulevard Poniatowski
75012 Paris
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