Tennis Edouard Pailleron: Clay court is an instant hit

It is only two weeks ago that my friend Tanya and I were admiring the manicured perfection of the French Open courts at Roland Garros - raked, watered and with lines swept clean, the clay surface looked so inviting. Little did we imagine that we would soon be playing on clay ourselves on one of Paris's public courts. Even better, when we arrived the couple on court before us were raking and watering the surface - we could hardly believe our luck or restrain our squeals of enthusiasm.

Edouard Pailleron is in the 19th arrondissement at a sort of mid-point between Tanya's home in the 10th and ours in the 20th. I can't believe we have never played here before - it turns out that these are the only public clay courts in Paris. The address, in Rue Edouard Pailleron, had proved slightly tricky to find - the courts are poorly signed and tucked behind a large building next to the swimming pool. We had to ask at the neighbouring ice-rink, but once we arrived we had the friendliest and most helpful welcome I have ever received at a Paris tennis court. The woman at reception showed us to an underground changing room and then personally conducted us to our court.

There are two courts side by side in a lovely, leafy setting - so much nicer to play to a background of birdsong than the roar of the traffic. The clay surface means they are used only for tennis so there are no distracting handball or basketball markings and the fencing is in good order so the balls stay in the court. I'm far more used to playing on concrete or carpet - the surface of choice for most public courts in the city - so it was a real treat to play on clay. The court had a good, even bounce and disputed line calls were easy to judge by checking the mark where the ball bounced. At the end of our game it was our turn to rake and water - something I know my kids will enjoy when I bring them for a game. As we left we joked should decant some of the red surface into tiny glass jars of the type sold in the Roland Garros souvenir shop for €20 - who would ever know the difference?

The rakes progress: Smoothing the surface post match

Let us spray: Damping down the dust for the next game

Tennis Edouard Pailleron

22 Rue Edouard Pailleron

75019

Paris

Metro: Bolivar (line 7bis)