A Premier Tennis Destination
Since 1954
Our history is rooted in a love of the game and a legacy of tennis champions.
Town Tennis Club was established in 1954 by tennis legends – 1931 Wimbledon champion Sidney Wood and six-time Grand Slam champ Don Budge – who served as the club’s first teaching pro, charging a rate of $8 an hour.
Sidney Wood
Don Budge
With the post-war construction boom, Wood was concerned that tennis courts were disappearing in the city, so he proposed a brilliant idea – build courts on rooftops. He partnered with his best friend Budge, and they discovered a unique location for the club atop a building, which housed a garage for FBI vehicles, in the residential neighborhood of Sutton Place.
“Today, Town Tennis continues its tradition of tennis excellence as a home away from home for current champions and tennis enthusiasts who share a love of the game and pride in the club’s distinguished history.”
Since its founding, Town Tennis has been a premier destination for tennis legends including Serena Williams, Monica Seles, Jim Courier, Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Pancho Gonzales, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Pancho Segura, Gardnar Mulloy, Bill Tilden, and Billy Talbert, among others. Regulars included top-ranked Gussie Moran, who made headlines for her tennis fashion in the 1940s, and Brazilian Grand Slam champ Maria Bueno, a lifelong player at Town Tennis, as well as Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, who held their historic “Battle of the Sexes” press conference at the club in 1973.
Celeste Holm
Beyond the courts, Town Tennis Club became renowned in the New York social scene, hosting elegant events attended by Hollywood celebrities such as Ginger Rogers, Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston, Celeste Holm, Rudy Vallée, and Dina Merrill.
Today, top-ranked tennis stars continue to visit Town Tennis, including Caroline Garcia and Maria Sakkari, and you might find Patrick Mouratoglou giving a tennis tip or two.