Queen’s Club doubles players (left to right): April Tod, Richard Pagliaro, Ricky Dimon and Julie Turner.
On a lovely morning, the 10sBalls team experienced the joy and beauty of the grass game at the historic Queen’s Club.
Today tops all the years we’ve played on lawn at Forest Hills, the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the prestigious Queen’s Club. We all had so much fun. Thanks to our Dear member friend, April Tod, we played our mixed doubles match on No. 9 court.
Queen’s Club has a well-earned reputation for its pristine grass court.
The courts were in terrific condition even after hosting the WTA 500 HSBC Championships followed by the ATP 500 HSBC Championships. The only bad bounces we experienced came when April Tod hit both sidelines with winning drives, including a passing shot down the line that ricocheted off the top of the tape and landed smack on the middle of the sideline like a bird returning to its nest.
It’s the kind of shot that once provoked the mercurial John McEnroe to famously proclaim “Chalk flew up!” at Wimbledon decades ago.
Last month, Carlos Alcaraz captured his second Queen’s Club title in the last three years.
To play on the same courts where two-time reigning Wimbledon champion Alcaraz played is truly a phenomenal experience.
The club is awesome with a welcoming staff and astute pro-shop team, who helped us choose the right racquet to rent for the match.
As we walked to the locker room we were greeted by a board listing legendary champions who have played on the very same iconic Queen’s Club grass: Bill Tilden, Don Budge, Bunny Austin, Pancho Segura, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Rod Laver, John Newcombe, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal and of course home hero Andy Murray, who has long cited Queen’s as one of his all-time favorite events.
If you’re passionate about tennis history, the club is a treasured piece of tennis paradise.
A construction team was at work disassembling the center court stadium, however there wasn’t much noise at all so you could clearly hear the ball pop off the strings. Those sounds were distinct as Julie Turner went toe-to-toe with Ricky Dimon in some thrilling baseline exchanges wielding her one-handed backhand to impressive effect.
Grass-court tennis is a reminder that “tennis is a game of legs” as Hall of Famer Gene Scott once wrote. You need to focus on footwork and getting down to the level of the lower bounce on grass rather than trying to use your hand to lift the ball as many players, even today’s pros, sometimes do.
An interesting aspect of our visit: the construction crew had deconstructed half of the stadium so Centre Court actually looks much smaller without the massive metallic stands. It’s a reminder of just how intimate the Centre Court looks.
The iconic wooden singles sticks supporting the net area also named and numbered.
The backdrop of the club, the clock, the greenery it’s a beautiful place. Also at one point, I looked up and a few people in the homes across the street were sitting on their balcony drinking coffee watching us play. (maybe it was a Pimms?)
We had a perfect day to play—sunny and 80 degrees with a whisper of a slight breeze—and our fourth, Julie Turner, was a fine player. She had a good serve, formidable one-handed backhand and she hit the ball cleanly. The result was many good rallies back and forth in our set with all four players involved in the action.
Many thanks to our gracious host, April Tod, for her hospitality and providing truly the best grass court experience we’ve ever had.
Thank you to the Big Boss at 10sBalls and our dear member friend for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Hours later, we were sitting at Centre Court watching Alcaraz out-duel Jan-Lennard Struff in a four-set thrill ride at Wimbledon while reminiscing about our Queen’s Club match.
Our match spanned about one hour, the memory will linger forever.