Tennis Niox: Sirens and cement mixers

A Sunday morning knock-up on the banks of the Seine in the 16th arrondissement sounded rather appealing. It was a very long journey by metro - more than 26 stops - but it was the only court available that didn't necessitate an 8am start. Tennis Niox is not far from Porte de Saint-Cloud, home of the Parc des Princes and the Paris St Germain football team (we even had three footballers in their official tracksuits in our carriage on the metro ride there). Unfortunately its riverside setting must be the least scenic stretch in Paris - home to a builder's yard with its accompanying piles of sand, JCBs, cranes and concrete mixers. It's more Manchester ship canal than Les Amants du Pont Neuf.

The grim aspect was compounded by the fact that many of the surrounding roads were closed off for a road race so that the road along the Seine was bumper to bumper with Parisians all sitting with their hand on the horn - their instinctive reaction to any slowing of traffic. It was deafening and, combined with the almost constant wail of sirens, it made keeping score tricky at times. The court surface was one of the worst we've played on with a positive trip hazard on one of the joins between the concrete blocks. There are three courts in total - two with an open-sided cover and one fully in the open which we played on. Interestingly, and somewhat unusually, there was a Pelote court next door - the Basque game played with scoops rather than rackets - so if anyone fancies a game you know where to go.

We managed two good sets as no-one came to take over when our hour was up. It was just as well because we were all agreed that while any tennis is better than no tennis, it was rather a long way to travel for the privilege.

Tennis Niox

12 quai Saint-Exupéry

75016 Paris

Metro: Porte de Saint-Cloud

Tennis La Faluère: Into the woods

Most tennis courts in Paris are necessarily very urban - squeezed in between the densely-packed buildings in the middle of the city or parked among the high rises on the edge of the Périphèrique. Tennis La Faluère is a rare exception, deep in the heart of the Bois de Vincennes, so far out of town that there is even parking nearby, though many people seemed to arrive by bike and cycled right on to the court. Allow plenty of time for the journey there because the walk from the metro at Chateau de Vincennes takes about 20 minutes, but it is a very pretty one past the chateau and through the woods.

After a wrong turn into a private club - the first tennis courts we reached on the Route de la Pyramide - we eventually came to a sign directing us down a woodland path and emerged at the entrance to La Faluère which itself feels much more like a club than a public facility. 

What a racket: a vintage Dunlop Max Ply 

As we queued to pay I was amused (though not as amused as my kids) to see my first ever tennis racket - a wooden Dunlop Max Ply - displayed on the wall like a museum exhibit. How I loved that racket (and my Dunlop Green Flash tennis shoes), but how tennis technology has advanced since the 1970s!

La Faluère has 21 well-maintained courts grouped in blocks of four with each block surrounded by a well-manicured cypress hedge. The hedges are lovely, but over-enthusiastic hitters beware, any rogue balls sent flying over the side netting (a speciality of my daughter) will land in the hedge and be lost forever. Perhaps this was the source of the many "Ooh la las" we heard floating over from the next block of courts. It was back to doubles today with a perfect Sunday lunchtime family four. The weather has cooled down considerably and conditions were perfect. We paid for an hour, but played for two when no one turned up to take over the booking. All in all the best possible start to September and the new school year.

Tennis La Faluère

113 Route de la Pyramide

75012

Paris

Metro: Chateau de Vincennes

Tennis Poliveau: Defeated in the heat!

Back in Paris after five weeks away I was looking forward to playing some tennis, but Paris was sweltering in a heatwave with temperatures of up to 38 degrees - too hot to leave the apartment let alone think about running round a tennis court. The heat feels particularly intense in the city, reflecting off the pavements and buildings and without so much as a breath of wind to cool things down. It is probably for this reason that I had my pick of the courts when I came to book one yesterday - the temperature had fallen to a chilly (by comparison!) 25 degrees and it was a chance to try somewhere new. We just got in under the wire with a booking at Poliveau in the 5th arrondissement. The court is only open during school holidays which come to an end tomorrow. It is close to the Jardin des Plantes (the botanical gardens) where my husband lived in a tiny two-room apartment before we were married. It is also only 25 minutes on a direct bus route from outside our new flat.

In fact Poliveau is technically a covered court, with an orange canvas roof stretched over the top like a gigantic 14-legged beetle. Fortunately there are gaps in the side to let in some air so today the roof served as a parasol keeping off the blazing sun which would otherwise have been beating down mercilessly. The court surface is a clay-coloured hairy matting - pleasant underfoot and with a nice even bounce. It was still very hot though - too hot for me and my son took his chance. He had had a few hours coaching over the holidays and has also grown so he is now taller than me. Fired up by a summer of sport - the Euro 2016 followed by the Olympics - he was very much on form and also ready to run for every ball so I suffered my first defeat, but couldn't have been more delighted. We both agreed it was a great game.

The Champion!

Tennis Poliveau
39b rue Poliveau
75005
Paris
Metro: Saint Marcel

Louis Lumière: Mum's the word!

My mum is finally in Paris and it's Wimbledon week - she has only one request: she wants to watch us play tennis! A founder member of the family four of my own childhood - partnering my brother against my dad and I - she was looking forward to seeing the tradition continue. It was a joy for us to have someone collect the balls and intervene in disputed line calls and while we were changing ends she even picked up a racket herself to practice a few serves.
On a Saturday in July you have to take whatever court is available. We didn't want to trek too far from home so we settled on Louis Lumière near Porte de Bagnolet in the 20th arrondissement. Last time we played here court 3 was a pot-holed disaster so I studiously avoided it this time. In the interim, courts 2 and 3 had been refurbished and court 1 was now the poor relation, its sagging net wedged with two old ball tins and gaps under the side netting where the balls could escape.

Another new addition since the last time we played was the open-air gym at the far end of the court where a kick boxing club were training intensely to the strains of some rather loud music, drowning out the usual roar of the nearby Périphérique.

No matter! The sun was shining and we were buoyed up by the prospect of Andy Murray in the Wimbledon final. We enjoyed a leisurely couple of sets in the heat of the day - another win for my son and I. The match concluded when my poor daughter was struck on the ear after an over-enthusiastic serve by her partner, but still riding high from her triumphant result in her Brevet des Collèges rounded off the morning with a jog round the adjoining running track. 

Tennis Louis Lumière
30 rue Louis Lumière
75020
Paris

Philippe Auguste: As green as it gets!

Pulling a few strings: My latest accessory from the French Open

The French Open at Roland Garros was practically a washout this year, but I was lucky enough to have tickets for one of the few dry days and my friend and I sat in the sun until 9.30pm watching singles and doubles on the outside courts. After that the rain came down so heavily that parts of Paris were under water, with the Seine reaching its highest level since the floods of 1910. This week the waters have subsided and the city is preparing to host the Euro which kicks off tonight. The start of the football tournament has coincided with a series of strikes across the city - the latest one being by the binmen.

What a load of rubbish: Binmen strike for the Euro

After the terrorist attacks at the start of the year, then the havoc wreaked by the floods my husband had joked he was expecting a plague of locusts next. Judging by the rubbish piling up on the pavements it is more likely to be rats -  not what most of the visitors pouring into Paris for the football will be expecting. Still - at least it's not raining!

Taking advantage of the change in the weather and the fact that my son had a half day off school I went ahead and booked a tennis court.

Philippe Auguste in the 11th arrondissement is on the opposite side of Père Lachaise cemetery to our new apartment. It was the first court I ever played on in Paris and I love it. Hidden away behind a modern apartment building and hemmed in by flats on every side it is like playing on a private court, especially on a weekday afternoon.

Green and pleasant court: Philippe Auguste in the 11th arrondissement

We arrived early and enjoyed an extra half-hour of play as the court was empty. I love the green astroturf of this court - if you don't look too closely you could almost be playing on grass. It was a hot, airless afternoon without a breath of wind - not my favourite conditions, although it would be churlish to complain after the deluge - but playing on the soft green surface was definitely cooler than concrete. A delicious fragrance hung in the air from the linden trees around the court and the path from the changing room was lined with roses under-planted with strawberry plants.

My only complaint was that the net was too high - and that was not just an excuse for any shots that ended up in the net - I measured with my Queen's Club measuring chain (thank you Charlotte) unfortunately there was no means of adjusting the net so we just had to live with it.

Tennis Philippe Auguste

108 Avenue Philippe Auguste

75011 Paris

Metro: Charonne

Tennis Atlantique: Oh les Beaux Jours

My top tip for tourists visiting Paris is never go up the Eiffel Tower, but go up the Montparnasse Tower instead (it's taller, there is a lift to the top, there are no queues and best of all you can get the Eiffel Tower in your photos instead of the ugly old tower you are standing on!) It also affords a bird's eye view of Tennis Atlantique. Peering down from the top recently with a visiting friend I had a sudden hankering to play again on the courts in the garden above Montparnasse station. In many ways they are the least practical option for us now we live on the other side of Paris and they are quite a long walk from the Metro station, but I love the feeling of space you have on the roof and as it was Ascension Day it seemed appropriate to pick a high spot.

We weren't disappointed - the sun was shining, the wisteria was out and as a bonus the lovely man on reception let us have an extra hour when no one turned up to claim our court. It was perfect tennis weather - my skirt had its first airing this year and visors were essential for serving into the sun. There are five courts at Atlantique, but they are quite separate from one another - so no interruptions from stray balls - and lots of greenery overhanging the fences to provide some welcome shade. The concrete surface was slightly worn, but the net was in excellent condition. The SNCF chimes drifting up from the station platforms as the TGVs rumbled into and out of the station were strangely comforting, prompting thoughts of rail journeys across France and the promise of holidays yet to come.

The road at the back of the gardens offers a distant view of the Eiffel Tower and Paris's signature chestnuts in blossom. We decided to take a short detour through the famous Montparnasse cemetery (where I used to push the children in their prams as babies) to pay a visit to my favourite playwright - Samuel Beckett (I don't think he was a tennis player, but you can't have everything).

Tennis Atlantique

25 Allée du Capitaine Dronne

75015

Paris

Porte de Bagnolet: You are my sunshine!

Spring has sprung, it was the school holidays and my son and I were at a loose end. Booking a court in the middle of the day, mid week was no problem. We booked the court nearest to our new apartment and an hour later we were out there enjoying our game. The sun was shining, the air was warm - I was so happy to be back playing outside again. Porte de Bagnolet would certainly not figure among my favourite courts, but it had the great advantage of being nearby - practically walking distance in fact (and we did walk home). 

There are four courts - although only three had nets - but the surface is thoroughly worn and the lines faded. They reminded me of the tennis courts at my old school - the surface chipped away by lunchtime football matches in outdoor school shoes.

 The setting is very much Paris fringes - intramuros, but only just - surrounded by huge housing projects which would be more at home on the other side of the Péripherique. It didn't matter - the smell of the tennis balls, the shadows on the court, the warm sun overhead in a cloudless sky and the fact that I was finally able to enjoy a game of singles with my son, whose game has improved so much since last year, made for a perfect afternoon. 

My only regret was that I had not thought to wear my skirt. It was certainly warm enough!

Tennis Porte de Bagnolet

72 rue Louis Lumière

75020

Paris

Metro: Porte de Bagnolet