AVENUE TOTS
Tiny Tennis Stars in the Making! Classes for 3-5 year olds who are looking to start their tennis journey!
Book A Space Now!STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITY WITH 17 COURTS
TENNIS & RACQUETS
Avenue Tennis provides both beginners and experienced players with access to world-class facilities on a total of 17 multi-surface courts.
STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITY
Avenue Tennis is an exciting, state-of-the-art tennis facility and the only tennis facility in Medway to offer both indoor and outdoor tennis on multiple surfaces.
OUR COURTS
We have two beautifully maintained grass courts, seven clay and two AstroTurf courts, all with state-of-the-art floodlights making tennis accessible all year round. All this alongside three indoor tennis courts and three badminton courts.
BOOKING TIMES
Court bookings can be made using our online tool, simply choose what type of court you wish to book and log in with your Avenue Tennis membership details.
RACQUET HIRE
Tennis racquets are available to hire for £2.50 per hour (non-refundable) with a £5 refundable deposit.
WHAT IS PICKLE BALL?
Pickleball is a mixture of tennis, badminton and table tennis which is played on badminton size courts, with a low net similar to tennis.
HOW TO PLAY
Pickleball is a paddleball sport, two or four players use solid paddles that look like oversized table tennis bats, to hit a large perforated plastic ball.
Click here for our video.
RACQUET HIRE
Equipment for Pickleball can be hired. There is a fee at £2 per paddle.
PLAY SHORT TENNIS
We love to play short tennis here at Avenue Tennis! Played on a badminton court, short tennis is also known as mini tennis or touch tennis. Short tennis games can be played within 30 minutes, allowing you to maximise your time on court. This is perfect as an introduction to tennis or if you want to avoid the outdoor elements.
HOW IT DIFFERS TO TENNIS
Short tennis is played with sponge balls, lower nets and smaller racquets. Several rules are similar to the long version of the game; however, short tennis does have a few rules unique to the sport.
HOW TO PLAY
Standing behind the baseline of the box, each point is initiated by an underarm or overarm serve which has to land in the diagonal service box. You are only allowed one serve in short tennis, if the ball touches the net the ball is then played on. The ball has to bounce once before it can be returned, players are then allowed to volley.
SCORING OPTIONS
Points are scored the same as full tennis with the traditional method of 15, 30 and 40. To win a set you need to get to 4 games and be clear by 2 games. At 4-4 a tie break is played to 5 points, sudden death at 4-4 to decide the set. First 3 sets wins the match.
WINNING
The player first to reach 4 points wins the game, then the first to win four games wins the set. If at three games the set score is tied, a tiebreaker is played. To win the tiebreak, you must win two out of three sets to win the match.
GAIN FITNESS & SKILL
Badminton is the world’s fastest racquet sport and offers numerous health benefits, including improved cardiovascular fitness, agility, coordination, flexibility, as well as muscle strength and endurance.
OUR COURTS
We have three state of the art polyurethane badminton courts with a divider in between so that you aren’t disturbed by neighbouring courts.
TEST YOUR REFLEXES
An excellent sport for two or four players of all ages to play. It requires close hand-eye coordination and quick reflexes but is up to you how fast or slow to take it. We have two full-size table tennis tables which are situated next to the badminton courts.
TABLE TENNIS COACH
Our in-house table tennis coach Hurey offers individual private lessons alongside group sessions for adults and juniors to help develop your skills. To enquire, please either call us on 01634 386188 or email info@avenuetennis.co.uk.
INDOOR COURTS
Our three acrylic indoor courts are perfect for the colder months and have various levels of lighting to aid your game.
OUTDOOR COURTS
We have two beautifully maintained grass courts for seasonal use, seven clay and two AstroTurf courts, five of which have state-of-the-art floodlights, making tennis accessible all year round.
TENNIS LESSONS FOR ALL ABILITIES
Whether you’re a beginner or a frequent player, an adult or a junior, our expert tennis coaches have a proven track record of helping players of all ages and ability improve their game. Make your game more enjoyable by booking a coaching session.
CLUB PLAY
Club Play is not only an excellent way to practice your game but also a perfect opportunity to meet and socialise with other club members. Club Play takes place twice a week during winter months and four times per week during the summer. It is a time of recreational play using a rotational system enabling members to play in mixed, ladies and men’s doubles.
LADDERS
Tennis Ladders are a great way to meet new players and have a lot of fun. You will be placed in groups of 4 to 5 people of the same ability and you will arrange the matches between yourselves over a two-month period. Tennis Ladders works in a league format where the top player gets promoted and the bottom player gets demoted. Then we start again, and you play against new players.
CLUB SHOP
With plenty to choose from at our tennis club shop in Kent, you’ll feel and look good on court. We stock a great collection of racquets, clothing and accessories from brands such as Wilson and Babolat.
RACQUET HIRE
& RE-STRINGING
Tennis racquets are available to hire for £2 per hour (non-refundable) with a £5 refundable deposit. We also offer a professional stringing service with a wide variety of quality strings to choose from. In just 24 hours we can have your racquet restrung and ready for your next match.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
TENNIS & RACQUET INFORMATION
There are two possible ways to begin your tennis journey. Group lessons are a great way to start developing your strokes and tennis knowledge by practising with other players of a similar standard, to find a group please look at our coaching programme or check with one of our tennis coaches.
Alternatively, the quickest and by far the best way is through one to one coaching, especially when combined with a weekly group session. This enables you to practice what you’ve learnt within your one to one coaching sessions with others of a similar standard. For more information about one to one coaching speak to our coaching staff.
The LTA recommend that players start as soon as they can hold a racquet. The Avenue Tots Tennis sessions are aimed at 3-4 year olds and designed to help these young players develop their Tennis ABCs (Agility, Balance and Control) and ultimately have FUN! Upon joining Avenue Tennis, you will receive a free 20 minute assessment to determine which group would suit your ability.
By competing in a Grade 5 or higher tournament, Ranking Points are awarded, based on what stage is made and the grade of the tournament.
These ranking points are tallied up over the year, using a maximum of six events except for veterans which are three events. And this goes on a leader board for County, Regional, and National Rankings. To improve your ranking, you have to play in Grade 5 or above (Fast4’s are the common regularly staged one-day tournaments). If you win a match in the competition you gain ranking points, depending on what grade and matches you win, points are allocated accordingly (see LTA Website for details).
Matchplays are different to tournaments; various formats are used to shorten the matches initially 10.2-9.1 to get more matches played in a shorter space of time to improve your rating such as timed matches, short sets to 4 games, etc. a minimum of 2 matches are played in this format.
When you get to 8.2 and above, matches are usually full sets unless specified by an organiser. For Mini Tennis Red, Orange Tiebreaks to 7 or 10pts are used and short sets for green ball matches.