Henry de Montherlant: Volley good game

The 16th arrondissement has a reputation for being stuffy. Its long avenues lined with elegant Hausmannian apartment blocks are the haunt of ancient Parisian pensioners with their pampered poodles and Hermès scarves. Several were in evidence today shuffling to lunch in their Sunday finest, dogs and dowagers greeting one another alike. But in the autumn sunlight the streets had never looked more inviting, the golden stone seemed to glow and I could easily imagine myself perched on one of the sun-soaked balconies soaking up the unseasonable October warmth and listening to the rustle of autumn leaves.
The 16th is on the opposite side of Paris to us - 9 o'clock to our 3 o'clock  - but nowhere is really very far away 'intra-muros' and even with a Metro change it took us less than 40 minutes to get there. Tennis Henry de Montherlant is a pleasant ten-minute stroll from the Rue de la Pompe metro through  hushed streets past grand houses and entrances and is situated next door to the monolithic Russian embassy on Boulevard Lannes.
We had played here once before, but I had forgotten quite how smart these public courts were - many of them newly re-surfaced.

We were round the corner on Court 2 surrounded by trees and overlooking the Bois de Boulogne. It's a leafy setting, but the court surface was poor - as if Courts 1 and 2 had been forgotten in the renovation and there were a few deep cracks and worn patches that I remembered from last time. It didn't put us off - the glorious weather was more than enough to compensate and at least the net was in a decent state. It seemed to inspire my net play after a bit of volley practice with my partner and we went on to triumph. A welcome return to form.

Full marks for court maintenance: Louis Lumière

I've felt quite Parisian this autumn - after a summer spent almost entirely out of the city I finally understand why the French are so obsessed with what they call La Rentrée. It is a concept so French that the English don't even have a word for it. It literally means "the return" - to school, to work, to the city itself - and it's quite a thing here, as much of an event as Easter, Halloween or Christmas in terms of shop displays and marketing opportunities. So after a month spent busily installing everyone back at school, in a new job in the case of my husband, enrolling the kids in sports clubs (football and ice skating) and getting back to work etc we finally returned to tennis this weekend. Most excitingly my daughter has a new racket which she was desperate to try out and after only managing the occasional singles with my son over the summer I was looking forward to reviving the family four. Unless you book a week in advance, the best way to get a weekend reservation is to go on line the morning of the day you want to play and look for a cancellation. I found one for 2pm on Sunday on Court 2 at Louis Lumière - close to home and newly renovated. We'd last played here on my birthday back in June and courts 2 and 3 must have the best surface of any public courts in Paris - and I say that as someone who has played on many of them.

 Court 2 was slightly let down by its poor net with its macramé-style repairs, but after the first set we moved to Court 3 which had become empty and found a brand new net in place. It was a lovely autumn afternoon, perfect for tennis - not too hot and with no breeze. Sophie's racket proved a winner and despite her midnight tour of the city's museums and sights with her friends during the famous Nuit Blanche (another Parisian concept where many attractions stay open all night with free entry for visitors) she was not too tired to triumph on court. She even had enough energy for a 100 metres victory sprint on the athletics track afterwards.

We shouldn't leave it too long for a re-match!

THE WINNER: WHAT A RACKET!

Happy return(s): Tennis Louis Lumière

I haven't blogged for ages, not because I haven't been playing tennis, but because I've been playing on the same courts over and over again - close to home or tried and tested. I've played at Louis Lumière before, but the court we played on today - number two - was so beautifully resurfaced and with such clear markings I felt it deserved an honourable mention. There are three courts here and numbers two and three are now of the same high standard, this is a huge improvement on a year or so ago when we found court three had huge potholes and a net held up by a stick! Court maintenance has been duly carried out although court number one is now very much the poor relation - take note when booking.

It was my birthday and the sun was out, none of us was in top sporting form having rolled in at 2am from a surprise party the night before. I was still suffering from the effects of one too many glasses of Champagne, but no matter - my partner was as keen as a ever for victory so the match was on. We've been playing on the worn out surfaces at Porte de Bagnolet of late - school playground standard with fading lines and sagging nets. The net at Louis Lumière had a few small holes, but it was the right height and was securely fixed at the bottom to resist any gusts of wind. The court surface was the best we've played on - smooth and newly painted with clearly visible lines (and no other markings - nothing worse than misjudging a lob because you're looking at the markings of the handball court).

My partner occupies the high ground

I'd like to say we did it justice, but my partner complained it was a lacklustre game in spite of our decisive win. I was just delighted to be playing on a such a great court and couldn't think of a better way to blow away my birthday hangover. It's a holiday weekend here so I'm enjoying a three day celebration - well four in fact as I have tickets for Roland Garros on Tuesday which will also be the perfect occasion to treat myself to some more new balls.

30 rue Louis Lumière

75020 Paris

Metro: Porte de Bagnolet

Tennis Moureu-Baudricourt: A new high

A last-minute booking to blow away the cobwebs on an autumn Sunday saw us returning to the tower blocks of the 13th arrondissement near Place d'Italie and Tennis Moureu-Baudricourt. It was a golden Paris morning and the changing season had cast its spell even on this unlovely corner. I would have liked to try somewhere new, but with a short-notice booking at the weekend you have to take what's available and this court at least had the advantage of being only a shortish Metro ride away from home.

The high-rise environs aside, Moureu-Baudricourt is a great facility. There are three outdoor and three indoor courts as well as a running track and basketball courts, where this morning a film crew were making a film about a basketball player fighting back from injury. My son, who has a big cross-country race on Wednesday, kicked off and finished our session today with a few laps of the track. We were glad to be playing outside as it was a lovely day though low sunlight made serving into the sun a bit of a nuisance from one end. The court had a good surface and a well-maintained and adjusted net and there was a convenient bench on which to leave our kit. The only distraction was two men kicking a football next to the court and smoking a rather pungent joint which my husband claimed left him feeling too laid-back to play his best game - any excuse. His poor performance wasn't helped by pulling a calf muscle due to an inadequate warm-up - I should have mentioned it to the film crew, they might have used his story for a sequel. The cross-country runner and I triumphed easily - I think my daughter needs a new partner. We rounded off the morning with a bowl of Vietnamese soup in a restaurant at the end of the road. The 13th arrondissement around Place d'Italie is one of Paris's Chinatown areas and I can highly recommend the Ba Miên restaurant at 180 Avenue de Choisy for a post-match lunch. 

Tennis Moureu-Baudricourt

17 Avenue Edison

75013

Paris

Metro: Place d'Italie

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