On holiday in Rome last week I'd thought ahead and booked a court for our return. In the warm Italian sun I dreamed of playing in the dappled light of the Luxembourg Gardens and was lucky enough to bag a 9am slot. I'd even had a practice run the day before to find out how long the journey would take door to door and we'd enjoyed a picnic lunch by the courts in the shade of a chestnut tree.
However, last night after a rather too sociable evening sharing some Rome reminiscences with a friend in Paris I knew we'd never be out of the house for 8.15am and so I rescheduled in the early hours to the far less bucolic surrounds of the 13th arrondissement. It's high-rise heaven in this part of Paris, not far from Place d'Italie (nothing at all like the Italy we'd seen on holiday) - in fact the main point of interest is the Metro line which runs overhead here, presumably to break up the monstrous architecture.
Tennis Dunois was down a side street off the main boulevard and was clearly signposted. The entrance was between two huge blocks of flats. We paid at the kiosk and were directed to the tennis court entrance - through the men's changing rooms. I don't advise anyone to use the showers during court changeover times! A narrow spiral staircase (where we had to stand aside for a man carrying a hoe) led out on to a roof. We were up in the air, but certainly not above the rooftops. The court surface was a green carpet - like a green oasis in the sea of concrete all around. There was netting around the side of the court and also over the top - presumably to stop any rogue balls flying off the edge - which gave the effect of playing in a cage. This meant any lobs or looping overheads from my daughter (her speciality shot at the moment) would be brought down short with the result that we kept having to replay the point. There was also plenty of potential for balls to get caught in the netting - now I knew what the hoe was for! An excellent game nonetheless - and we definitely played better for having an extra two hours in bed (although the Luxembourg Gardens would have been much more scenic).
70 rue Dunois
75013 Paris
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