It's my daughter Sophie's last week in Paris before she leaves for Cardiff University. In between packing her bags and and scouring the shops for Parisian essentials to furnish her student flat, she's been taking a nostalgic tour of her old haunts, lingering over lunch at her favourite bars and cafés, hanging out in her favourite squares and generally soaking up the ambiance of her home city before she flies the nest. Tennis was on her 'to do' list and as I was booking midweek in term time I managed to get us a slot on the only public clay courts in Paris at Edouard Pailleron, not far from the Butte Chaumont.
These two courts are usually snapped up as soon as booking opens. They are in a lovely tree-shaded corner of the 19th, tucked behind the buildings, but with enough space around them that you almost have the feeling of being at a little tennis club.
The court condition and line markings had deteriorated since I last played here and the clay was starting to show cracks at the baseline, no doubt as a result of this year's scorching summer, but the couple on before us carefully raked and watered the clay before they came off so we had the pleasure of starting our game on a neatly manicured surface.
Even in less than peak condition, it is an enjoyable surface to play on - the bounce is so much better than on concrete and it feels softer underfoot, even if you do leave covered with a fine dusting of red clay. More crucially, disputed calls can be settled by looking for the mark on the court.
We enjoyed an energetic singles and then got almost as much pleasure from raking and watering the court when we had finished.
I haven't checked out the Cardiff University tennis facilities yet - I imagine indoor courts would be an essential if you are going to get a game in the Welsh climate. Sophie will be packing her racket for sure and perhaps I can even persuade to write a guest post.
22 rue Edouard Pailleron
75019
Paris
Metro: Bolivar (line 7bis)
