Sometimes a trip to a new court takes me to a delightful, undiscovered corner of Paris, a leafy backwater where you can hear the birds sing, a sunny rooftop or a bustling neighbourhood with an enticing bistro for lunch after a game, a part of Paris that I long to return to, to explore more fully or dream of living in. Rue André Bréchet in the 17th arrondissement ticks none of these boxes! Emerging from the Metro at Porte de Saint-Ouen I had the same sinking feeling I had when we played at Porte de Clignancourt and arrived to find the courts closed due to a strike.
It's one of the grimmer fringes of Paris and its charms were not enhanced by the fact that it was being dug up when we visited. Tennis Max Rousié is a short walk from the Metro, but it's a route lined by kebab shops, depressing social housing projects and dubious gangs of youths hanging around aimlessly. It wouldn't warrant so much as a paragraph in a tourist guide and it's certainly not somewhere I'll be flat-hunting.
The sports stadium itself, on the other hand, is as impressive as we have come to expect from municipal facilities in Paris. A well-maintained athletics track, assorted football pitches, basketball courts and three tennis courts (to say nothing of the indoor facilities which I didn't have a chance to inspect). The courts were newly resurfaced in a clay-coloured matting - it always surprises me to find carpet-type surfaces on outdoor courts. It was an easy surface to play on, reassuringly non-slip, easy on the knees and with an even bounce. The net was well-maintained and the netting round the court was high enough to ensure we didn't have any stray balls. We played at 6pm and as we left the floodlights came on. The courts stay open until 10pm.
In short, great courts where we'd love to play again were they not such a long Metro ride from home in the 11th arrondissement. But not a place to linger after tennis. Even the setting sun couldn't shed a romantic light on this lack-lustre district - and that's saying something for Paris.
28 rue André Bréchet
75017 Paris
Metro: Porte de Saint-Ouen
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