It was one of those wintry spring days - well just wintry really. The daffodils were out and some early blossom was making a valiant attempt after the glacial temperatures of the half-term holidays, but essentially it was dark and damp with a threat of rain. We had booked a covered court to be on the safe side although in fact the showers held off in the end. It is so long since I've played that Paris Tennis has introduced an entirely new on-line booking system which I found slightly confusing to navigate and which also insisted we pay in advance for our court - presumably to prevent people jamming up the system with bookings and then failing to turn up. At a hefty €17 for a covered court there was no chance of us ducking out at the last minute and so we took the bus to the lacklustre Porte de Montreuil to hit some balls. Grim doesn't really begin to describe it - the steely sky, the graffiti-scrawled social housing, the roar of the Périphèrique - not a sight to liven the heart on a dull March morning. But the court was well surfaced, with an excellent net and clear markings and even though the forecast rain never materialised it was reassuring to be on a dry, non-slip surface as I sprinted around.
Docteurs Déjerine is never the most peaceful spot, with the traffic on the ring-road hurtling by just through the hedge and the wail of sirens from the near-by hospital, but it was noisier than ever today with some kind of earth moving work going on at the neighbouring boules club making any kind of on court banter nearly impossible. On the plus side, I like the fact that this court is open-sided so although you are protected from the elements you still feel as if you are having a blow about in the open air. There are few things more exhilarating than a good game of tennis so I was full of beans when I came off court - even more so when I checked my phone to find an email from a fellow tennis enthusiast notifying me that tickets for the French Open were about to go on sale. I left with a spring in my step and with
Roland Garros on the calendar, spring is definitely in the air!
Tennis Docteurs Déjerine
32 Rue des docteurs Dejerine
75020 PARIS
Metro Mairie de Montreuil
