Westwood Country Club has recently completed it state of the art racquets facility which is home to 3 deco-turf tennis courts and a court tennis court. We also have 2 adjacent courts inside a bubble structure and 4 outdoor har-tru courts.

Westwood is one of two country clubs in the world that offers court tennis. The other is in Tuxedo Park, NY.   

The term "tennis" is thought to derive from the French word tenez, which means "take heed" – a warning from the server to the receiver. Real tennis  (as it is called in England and Australia)evolved, over many centuries, from an earlier ball game played around the 12th century in France. This had some similarities to palla, fives, Spanish pelota or handball, in that it involved hitting a ball with a bare hand and later with a glove. This game may have been played by monks in monastery cloisters, but the construction and appearance of courts more resemble medieval courtyards and streets than religious buildings. By the 16th century, the glove had become a racquet, the game had moved to an enclosed playing area, and the rules had stabilized. Real tennis spread across Europe, with the Papal Legate reporting in 1596 that there were 250 courts in Paris alone, near the peak of its popularity in France.  

The more commonly known version of tennis was derived from court tennis by Colonel Walter Clopton Wingfield in 1873. National championships in his new game began at Wimbledon in 1877 and in Newport, Rhode Island in the 1880s.   

The process of bringing the game to Washington began in the mid-1980s and culminated with the building of a court at Regency Sport & Health in McLean. Over the course of 25 years, the popularity of the game increased and many players were attracted from the Northern Virginia area. Some were Westwood members.   

Shortly after November 2019, when the old four-court bubble collapsed, Westwood members and the court tennis community began discussions that led to the construction of the new Racquet Center that opened in November 2022.   

The court is now in use 12 to 14 hours a day and has attracted many new players from the Westwood community.   

There are about 50 courts in the world where Westwood court tennis players will find a warm welcome. Banners showing their names and locations hang above the mezzanine in the Racquet Center.   

For more information, please see:  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_tennis   
https://uscourttennis.org   
https://usctpf.org  
https://www.tennisandrackets.com  

Contact our Director of Racquets - Dai Edwardes-Evans at [email protected]