Henry de Montherlant: Springing into action

It was only a few days since our last game, but my son was desperate to for another family four before the end of the school holidays. At such short notice on a Sunday we had no chance of getting an indoor court, but I decided to pick a time slot and take pot luck on whatever was available. Tennis Henry de Montherlant was on the other side of the city in the swanky 16th arrondissement, however there is a direct Metro line from the end of our road and even with 16 stops between us and Rue de la Pompe we were there in next to no time. It was March 1st and despite torrential rain all night the weather had decided to be kind to us, there was even a glimmer of spring sunshine as we emerged into Avenue Henri Martin. Like so many public courts in Paris Henry de Montherlant is on the fringes of the city, in this case on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, but what a pleasant change from the grim public housing projects which frame the 12th and the 20th arrondissement. Here we approached along wide, treelined boulevards surrounded by the elegant stone facades of Haussmann's Paris. Just along the street from the tennis courts was the house where Edith Piaf spent the last ten years of her life.

We even caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower down a side street - always a thrill and so much better than seeing it a close quarters surrounded by tourists, machine-gun toting guards and souvenir stalls.

Tennis Henry Montherlant is on Boulevard Lannes sandwiched between the imposing Russian Embassy and Paris Dauphine University. It is part of a sports complex which also includes a swimming pool - though that was closed on Sunday as it seems even the 16th arrondissement is not immune to the strikes which are a feature of everyday life in Paris. There are seven outdoor courts all surfaced with my least-favourite old motorway-style concrete blocks. The one we played on (Court 2) was in pretty poor condition - with lots of cracks in addition to the existing cracks which are part of its construction. On the plus side, the courts are all divided from one another with wire netting, so no chance of disturbing the neighbouring courts - and there was some serious tennis going on there (though not on our court!). It was great to be back outside - my gloves came off, my sunglasses went on and you could feel spring was in the air. Definitely one to make note of for the warmer days once the trees come into leaf!

You cannot be serious? My partner sits in
 judgement on a poor line call!

Tennis Henry Montherlant

30 Boulevard Lannes 75016 PARIS

Tel: 01 40 72 28 33