Time for Outdoor Tennis

Springtime has returned to Brooklyn. And for the borough’s tennis fanatics that can only mean one thing.

The transition from indoor to outdoor play, which began on Sunday, May 1, will be completed by Saturday, May 14. For most Brooklyn-dwelling tennis aficionados, that means a return to the great outdoors when taking to the courts. But for the dedicated staff of the Prospect Park Tennis Center, things aren’t quite so simple.

A lot goes into transitioning the Center from its indoor, bubbled configuration. “The courts need to be prepped,” says Paul Campbell, the Prospect Park Alliance’s Tennis Center Director, understatedly. Removal of the bubbles is only half the battle.

Taking the tennis bubbles down is a task handled by an outside contractor the specializes in this work. “Each bubble is broken down into three sections, which are then rolled up and stored near the police station for safe keeping,” explains Campbell.

All that’s left is to turn on the Musco lighting – the same lighting system that the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center uses for the US Open – to illuminate the courts. 

Learn more about and register for great outdoor programming at the Prospect Park Tennis Center!