Foster City Tennis Club leagues are filling a void

“The two major outlets to play more organized tennis — United States Tennis Association and the San Francisco Peninsula Tennis League — both had to fold up, temporarily, due to the pandemic,” said Pat Merrill, who is a FCTC board member and in charge of marketing for the club.

“We’ve always had activities for members, but it was just events here and there. It was more social and free forming,” Merrill continued. “But a lot of our members play matches. … We did hear people who were playing tennis asking, ‘When is the USTA going to comeback?’ In order to encourage people to keep fit and get out and play, we formed a social league. Shortly after that, we formed a competitive league.”

The social league, which was started last August, is the less formal of the two and is more of a drop-in setup. The competitive league, which was formed in November and currently features four teams, is more structured, requires more of a commitment and also requires players be rated at a certain level.

“In the past, these (players in the competitive league) were people who played in USTA (leagues),” Merrill said. “[The FCTC] helped fill that void.”

Most matches are played on three of the five tennis courts at Edgewater Park and Merrill admitted there have been some issues with members of the general public voicing concerns about the lack of opportunity to play when the club has reserved the courts.

Merrill understands their frustration, but points out that has not always been the case at public courts in the city.

“There has been some of that (blowback). But prior to the pandemic, the courts were not very well used,” Merrill said. “Now, it’s the other way around. … [Usage] has become a bit of an issue.”

But given the increased usage, Merrill said the city courts in Foster City are in very good condition.

“I’ve lived in Foster City for 30 years. … I would have to say, overall, the conditions of the courts have never been better than they are now,” Merrill said. “In terms of public courts, they’re in really good shape.”

When tennis courts were first reopened in May of 2020, there were several restrictions in place about the sharing of equipment. Tennis was initially limited to singles play only and a player was not allowed to handle an opponent’s tennis ball and instead were to flip the ball back with their racket.

Merrill said now there are fewer restrictions.

“[The restrictions] have definitely loosened,” Merrill said, adding that doubles matches can now be played. “There are still some loose restrictions about the number of people on the courts at one time. … But it’s quite open now.”

Merrill said the club also sees the club’s new competitive league as a way to give players more options than just competing in USTA-sanctioned leagues. He said he would like to see other cities along the Peninsula start public tennis clubs and then arrange teams and leagues in a city-vs-city concept.

Despite the club being based in Foster City, Merrill said membership is available to many of the surrounding communities, including San Mateo, Burlingame, Belmont and Redwood Shores.

“There are a lot of people taking up tennis again,” Merrill said. “When you’re part of a club, it’s easy to find three other people to play tennis at any given time. Now that these leagues are organized … it’s made it easier for people to get out and play.”