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Atherton now has one more claim to fame – a clay tennis court available for public use.
The court, paid for with a donation from the Rajaram family, was unveiled on March 11. The court was dedicated in honor of Tyler Nii, a 27-year-old coach for Player Capital Tennis who died in a skydiving accident in New Zealand in January. Player Capital manages the park’s tennis program for the town and also operates from the Peninsula Community Center in Redwood City.
The new clay court, said Player Capital Director Michael Jessup, is “an opportunity for our community to experience a different side of tennis filled with graceful sliding and longer points, allowing us to experience what we see at the French Open.”
In a report to the City Council, Mr. Jessup said the clay court offers several advantages over a more conventional court. The clay surface makes the tennis game a little slower, he said, “making it great for beginners and senior players alike.” The surface is also easier on the player’s body, he said.
The court will give junior players a chance to practice playing on clay before competing on it, he said. Mr. Jessup also noted that “no other public facility offers a clay court to its residents.”
The courts are available to the public through the purchase of a tennis key for the annual cost of $50 a year for residents and $200 a year for non-residents. Mr. Jessup has asked to raise the key costs for residents by $50 a year to help pay the costs of maintaining the clay court, estimated to be about $1,000 a year more than conventional courts at $2,500 annually. An increase has not yet been approved by the council.
Residents with tennis keys will be able to use the court – at no additional charge – from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to sunset. Non-residents with keys will pay $30 an hour to Player Capital to use the court at other times, when it is not being used by Player Capital.
The court also requires the use of an estimated 1,400 gallons of water a week, which will come from wells in the park.
Natasha Rajaram, the daughter of donors Tamara and Gokul Rajaram, trains on the Atherton courts with Player Capital and is a top-ranked national junior player, Mr. Jessup said. She recently won a national sportsmanship award, he said.
The court was designed by Chris Kummerer & Associates architects and installed by Saviano Co., Inc.
The clay court is great and will add to the tennis complex at the park. Unfortunately the town has given total access of the courts to Player Capital at almost all times and days. On weekends and times when working people might want to play there is only 1 court available to reserve and it is often booked.
Perhaps Player Capital should be paying more to the city or the park commission should be making sure more courts are available for residents if they want to charge us more. It is great that the courts are getting more use, but it is always packed with lessons so we often go play at other courts in the area.
If my perception is wrong, please correct me. Just one persons view.
I would expect the clay court to be heavily used early due to novelty. As time goes on, usage could go down freeing it up for anyone that wants to use it.
If usage stays high, the town council could charge key holders more for the clay court. The best way to modulate demand is to adjust price. To be revenue neutral, they could lower the price for those that want to use hard courts only.
Another option is to raise the clay court prices and keep hard court prices at the expected $100/resident key. The extra revenue would go toward a capital fund that would convert another hard court to clay.
Player Capital pays Atherton tens of thousands every year for court use. That revenue goes to court maintenance and lower prices for key holders. They can restrict Player Capital’s clay court use, but that would mean even higher prices for key holders to make up for the lost revenue.
Why be a key holder if the courts have already been sold to someone else?
It is a nice new feature for residents but it seem excessive for non-residents with a $200 key to still pay $30 per hour to Player Capital. At the end of the day, it is not their court.
It is a good alternative to hard courts for some (including seniors with old knees and juniors generally) but, to clarify, it is not what is used at French Open. Real clay courts in the traditional sense are red clay, which is different than green clay. In case folks wanted to know before putting down money for a key.
@Resident
I walked by the Atherton tennis courts yesterday and today. Both times, the clay court was available for use, as well as a number of hard courts. It doesn’t seem busy at all on this weekend.