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Also, if you have health issues, you will not be playing tennis twice a week. Plus tennis is on the expensive to stay active in when you need a club membership

Also, if you have health issues, you will not be playing tennis twice a week. Plus tennis is on the expensive to stay active in when you need a club membership and courts to play.

bluGill 1y ago
Every town I've lived in has free courts in a park that anyone can use.
- rs186 1y ago
  These days they are often repurposed for pickleball in the US.
  - firesteelrain 1y ago
    Pickleball nets are often portable and good co use with Tennis courts. That’s what we do Plus pickleball is popular so you will find more people to play with
    - impossiblefork 1y ago
      Pickleball will not provide high-intensity exercise.
      - firesteelrain 1y ago
        It has some moderate sections of exercise depending on length of play but it’s a great way to keep moving regardless which is great (and other intrinsic benefits)
  - lapcat 1y ago
    Yes, that has become a problem for tennis players, but it's a quite recent problem. Before pickleball became popular, though, free public tennis courts were widespread in urban and suburban areas. Perhaps not in rural areas, though I can't speak definitively on that.
    - bluGill 1y ago
      It isn't uncommon for farmers to settup something in their barn for whatever sport they like. the maintenance bay has plenty of space for tennis or whatever.
  - _9ptr 1y ago
    Then just play pickleball. It's virtually the same thing for the topic at hand.
- 827a 1y ago
  I have a friend who, when you bring up exercise in any capacity, how good it is for you, anything about it, even if its just how I did it, he has to find some way to twist it so it can't be good. This thread is so reminiscent of conversations with him. "Tennis is great for you" "there's probably a correlation with being rich" "Also unhealthy people don't regularly play tennis so there's survivors bias". "But there's free courts" "Nope they turned those into pickleball courts" "Wake up at 4:30am and go for a run" "Bro if youre waking up at 4:30 when are you going to bed" etc People will find any reason they can to be unhealthy. Its better to just not engage with them.
  - dfee 1y ago
    Exactly. Now, time to go crank some calisthenics in my garage - for free.
    - Zacharias030 1y ago
      unhealthy fumes in the garage!!
  - gruez 1y ago
    >he has to find some way to twist it so it can't be good [...] >"Tennis is great for you" "there's probably a correlation with being rich" "Also unhealthy people don't regularly play tennis so there's survivors bias". But these seem like pretty reasonable objections? At the very least you should retort with a study that at least tried to control for confounders. >"Wake up at 4:30am and go for a run" "Bro if youre waking up at 4:30 when are you going to bed" etc I can't tell which side you're trying to strawman here. What's wrong with running at a normal time?
    - gtowey 1y ago
      > But these seem like pretty reasonable arguments? At the very least you should retort with a study that at least tried to control for confounders. I disagree. The fundamental premise here is that regular exercise has profound health benefits. Tennis is simply one example. The rebuttals to tennis here ignore the obvious truth -- there are limitless ways to get regular exercise; you just have to have some time and be willing to put some effort in. With very few exceptions there is nobody in the world for whom it's not a realistic goal. People who simply do not want to can come up with endless excuses to rationalize it.
- scotty79 1y ago
  Never seen a free tennis court in my life. I've seen plenty of paid ones though. Did every city you lived it had a free golf course as well?
  - mikestew 1y ago
    Conversely, as a life-long resident of the U. S, I've never seen a tennis court that required payment to play, and I've seen plenty of tennis courts. I know paid tennis clubs exist, I've just never stepped foot in one. Now that I think about it, many decades ago I lived in apartment complexes (Indianapolis, as if it makes a difference) that had tennis courts. I don't know if that's a thing anymore or not.
    - lapcat 1y ago
      > Now that I think about it, many decades ago I lived in apartment complexes (Indianapolis, as if it makes a difference) that had tennis courts. I don't know if that's a thing anymore or not. It was very common. That's where I learned how to play. I have no idea how common it is with new apartment construction though.
  - twunde 1y ago
    If you're in the northeast US it's very common to have free or have to pay a nominal fee for public tennis courts (this may depend on the quality of your town's Park and rec department) In NYC, it's 15/hr or 100/season. In the town I grew up in it's 20/yr for residents and 40/yr for non residents. I'm my current town it's free. And I suspect that there are waivers/discounts for folks that can't pay that amount.
  - jjav 1y ago
    > Never seen a free tennis court in my life. I've seen plenty of paid ones though. My neighborhood (California) has free (city-maintained, open to all) tennis courts. Seems pretty common. Also basketball, soccer and bike trails and swimmin g pool.
GoRudy 1y ago
Depends on the health issues. In the US, northeast and Florida at least there are many free courts almost everywhere. And plenty of older folks with small or medium health issues still find the time and motivation to play.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
geoka9 1y ago
Not in North America. Not sure about Mexico, but in the US and Canada the majority of tennis courts are public and free (some of them are being converted to pickle ball, but that's a rant for another post). You can pick up a racquet at a thrift store for a few bucks. A can of balls (a few bucks more) can be used for a long time, especially if you're a beginner to intermediate. If you become more advanced, the biggest expense can be shoes and strings, but that depends on your form/play style. I find tennis an incredibly cheap sport to do recreationally. Basketball can be cheap, too, but I think you'd go through shoes pretty fast, especially on a city hard court. Soccer maybe cheaper, but it's too much organization (hard to get 10+ people on the same page at the same time).
- pier25 1y ago
  In Mexico I've only ever seen tennis courts in hotels and private clubs. It's probably a cultural thing though. The majority of people here are more interested in football (soccer).
- javier2 1y ago
  Maybe its cultural thing. It would be much easier to play football (soccer) here

Also, if you have health issues, you will not be playing tennis twice a week. Plus tennis is on the expensive to stay active in when you need a club membership and courts to play.

bluGill 1y ago

Every town I've lived in has free courts in a park that anyone can use.

rs186 1y ago
These days they are often repurposed for pickleball in the US.
- firesteelrain 1y ago
  Pickleball nets are often portable and good co use with Tennis courts. That’s what we do Plus pickleball is popular so you will find more people to play with
  - impossiblefork 1y ago
    Pickleball will not provide high-intensity exercise.
    - firesteelrain 1y ago
      It has some moderate sections of exercise depending on length of play but it’s a great way to keep moving regardless which is great (and other intrinsic benefits)
- lapcat 1y ago
  Yes, that has become a problem for tennis players, but it's a quite recent problem. Before pickleball became popular, though, free public tennis courts were widespread in urban and suburban areas. Perhaps not in rural areas, though I can't speak definitively on that.
  - bluGill 1y ago
    It isn't uncommon for farmers to settup something in their barn for whatever sport they like. the maintenance bay has plenty of space for tennis or whatever.
- _9ptr 1y ago
  Then just play pickleball. It's virtually the same thing for the topic at hand.
827a 1y ago
I have a friend who, when you bring up exercise in any capacity, how good it is for you, anything about it, even if its just how I did it, he has to find some way to twist it so it can't be good. This thread is so reminiscent of conversations with him. "Tennis is great for you" "there's probably a correlation with being rich" "Also unhealthy people don't regularly play tennis so there's survivors bias". "But there's free courts" "Nope they turned those into pickleball courts" "Wake up at 4:30am and go for a run" "Bro if youre waking up at 4:30 when are you going to bed" etc People will find any reason they can to be unhealthy. Its better to just not engage with them.
- dfee 1y ago
  Exactly. Now, time to go crank some calisthenics in my garage - for free.
  - Zacharias030 1y ago
    unhealthy fumes in the garage!!
- gruez 1y ago
  >he has to find some way to twist it so it can't be good [...] >"Tennis is great for you" "there's probably a correlation with being rich" "Also unhealthy people don't regularly play tennis so there's survivors bias". But these seem like pretty reasonable objections? At the very least you should retort with a study that at least tried to control for confounders. >"Wake up at 4:30am and go for a run" "Bro if youre waking up at 4:30 when are you going to bed" etc I can't tell which side you're trying to strawman here. What's wrong with running at a normal time?
  - gtowey 1y ago
    > But these seem like pretty reasonable arguments? At the very least you should retort with a study that at least tried to control for confounders. I disagree. The fundamental premise here is that regular exercise has profound health benefits. Tennis is simply one example. The rebuttals to tennis here ignore the obvious truth -- there are limitless ways to get regular exercise; you just have to have some time and be willing to put some effort in. With very few exceptions there is nobody in the world for whom it's not a realistic goal. People who simply do not want to can come up with endless excuses to rationalize it.
scotty79 1y ago
Never seen a free tennis court in my life. I've seen plenty of paid ones though. Did every city you lived it had a free golf course as well?
- mikestew 1y ago
  Conversely, as a life-long resident of the U. S, I've never seen a tennis court that required payment to play, and I've seen plenty of tennis courts. I know paid tennis clubs exist, I've just never stepped foot in one. Now that I think about it, many decades ago I lived in apartment complexes (Indianapolis, as if it makes a difference) that had tennis courts. I don't know if that's a thing anymore or not.
  - lapcat 1y ago
    > Now that I think about it, many decades ago I lived in apartment complexes (Indianapolis, as if it makes a difference) that had tennis courts. I don't know if that's a thing anymore or not. It was very common. That's where I learned how to play. I have no idea how common it is with new apartment construction though.
- twunde 1y ago
  If you're in the northeast US it's very common to have free or have to pay a nominal fee for public tennis courts (this may depend on the quality of your town's Park and rec department) In NYC, it's 15/hr or 100/season. In the town I grew up in it's 20/yr for residents and 40/yr for non residents. I'm my current town it's free. And I suspect that there are waivers/discounts for folks that can't pay that amount.
- jjav 1y ago
  > Never seen a free tennis court in my life. I've seen plenty of paid ones though. My neighborhood (California) has free (city-maintained, open to all) tennis courts. Seems pretty common. Also basketball, soccer and bike trails and swimmin g pool.

GoRudy 1y ago

Depends on the health issues. In the US, northeast and Florida at least there are many free courts almost everywhere. And plenty of older folks with small or medium health issues still find the time and motivation to play.

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]

geoka9 1y ago

Not in North America. Not sure about Mexico, but in the US and Canada the majority of tennis courts are public and free (some of them are being converted to pickle ball, but that's a rant for another post). You can pick up a racquet at a thrift store for a few bucks. A can of balls (a few bucks more) can be used for a long time, especially if you're a beginner to intermediate. If you become more advanced, the biggest expense can be shoes and strings, but that depends on your form/play style. I find tennis an incredibly cheap sport to do recreationally. Basketball can be cheap, too, but I think you'd go through shoes pretty fast, especially on a city hard court. Soccer maybe cheaper, but it's too much organization (hard to get 10+ people on the same page at the same time).

pier25 1y ago
In Mexico I've only ever seen tennis courts in hotels and private clubs. It's probably a cultural thing though. The majority of people here are more interested in football (soccer).
javier2 1y ago
Maybe its cultural thing. It would be much easier to play football (soccer) here