On Wednesday, Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton, Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro are taking over Madison Square Garden for The Garden Cup. Two days later, at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, is the grand finale of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown. Alex de Minaur, Jan-Lennard Struff, Gael Monfils, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Alexander Bublik, Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev and Ugo Humbert will convene and compete for UTS’ Zeus Trophy.
As New York City and London prepare for some hot-shot tennis, we’re taking a deeper dive into the hot-shot tennis destinations in the two major cities.
NEW YORK: Hudson River Courts
Commonly shared on Instagram Reels is this aesthetic, three-court tennis park located near Pier 40 in New York City. Open 19 hours a day, every day of the week, these courts not only look good, but make you want to play better—you wouldn’t want to shank a ball over the fence into the river, right?
Play is limited to one hour per group, and as everything in NYC goes, the wait time can be anywhere from nothing to an all-day campout on the benches. Our advice: Pack a lunch, play some music, and maybe bring a pillow or two to make the bench feel cozier. In any case, the wait is worth the experience.