NEW SAG HARBOR CAM "Click Here"
Subscribe to Guide
No Result
View All Result
Hamptons.com
  • Spotlight Magazine
  • Lifestyle
    • Featured
    • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Community
    • Dining
    • Recreation
    • Trending
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Post an Event
    • Gallery
  • Real Estate
    • Real Estate Features
    • Search Real Estate
      • Open Houses
      • Search Sales
      • Search Rentals
    • Title Insurance
    • Happening In The Hamptons Podcast
  • Live Cameras
    • All Live Cameras
    • Live Weather Cams
    • Amagansett, Atlantic Avenue Beach
    • Bridgehampton, West Scott Cameron Beach
    • East Hampton Village, Main Beach
    • East Hampton Village, Main Street
    • East Hampton Village, Newtown Lane
    • Hampton Bays, Ponquogue Beach
    • Hampton Bays, Ponquogue Bridge
    • Hampton Bays, Shinnecock Fishing Dock
    • Hampton Bays, Tiana Beach
    • Long Island Aquarium | Coral Reef
    • Long Island Aquarium | Penguins
    • Long Island Aquarium | Shark Tank
    • Montauk, Downtown Circle
    • Montauk, Lars Simenson Skatepark
    • Montauk, Gin Beach & Inlet
    • Montauk, Sunset Beach & Inlet
    • Sagaponack, Sagg Main Beach
    • Sag Harbor, Foster Memorial Beach
    • Sag Harbor, Long Wharf Marina
    • Sag Harbor, Main Street (South)
    • Sag Harbor, Sag Harbor Bay
    • Sag Harbor, Windmill Beach & Bay
    • Shelter Island, South Ferry
    • Southampton, 39A to Montauk Hwy Merge
    • Southampton, Conscience Point Marina
    • Southampton Village, Coopers Beach
    • Southampton Village, Main Street (South)
    • Southampton Village, Main Street (North)
    • Southampton Village, Main Street (Hildreths)
    • Westhampton Village, Main Street (East)
    • Westhampton Village, Rogers Beach
  • Public WiFi
    • Public WiFi Map
    • Public Wi-Fi Support
  • Spotlight Magazine
  • Lifestyle
    • Featured
    • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Community
    • Dining
    • Recreation
    • Trending
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Post an Event
    • Gallery
  • Real Estate
    • Real Estate Features
    • Search Real Estate
      • Open Houses
      • Search Sales
      • Search Rentals
    • Title Insurance
    • Happening In The Hamptons Podcast
  • Live Cameras
    • All Live Cameras
    • Live Weather Cams
    • Amagansett, Atlantic Avenue Beach
    • Bridgehampton, West Scott Cameron Beach
    • East Hampton Village, Main Beach
    • East Hampton Village, Main Street
    • East Hampton Village, Newtown Lane
    • Hampton Bays, Ponquogue Beach
    • Hampton Bays, Ponquogue Bridge
    • Hampton Bays, Shinnecock Fishing Dock
    • Hampton Bays, Tiana Beach
    • Long Island Aquarium | Coral Reef
    • Long Island Aquarium | Penguins
    • Long Island Aquarium | Shark Tank
    • Montauk, Downtown Circle
    • Montauk, Lars Simenson Skatepark
    • Montauk, Gin Beach & Inlet
    • Montauk, Sunset Beach & Inlet
    • Sagaponack, Sagg Main Beach
    • Sag Harbor, Foster Memorial Beach
    • Sag Harbor, Long Wharf Marina
    • Sag Harbor, Main Street (South)
    • Sag Harbor, Sag Harbor Bay
    • Sag Harbor, Windmill Beach & Bay
    • Shelter Island, South Ferry
    • Southampton, 39A to Montauk Hwy Merge
    • Southampton, Conscience Point Marina
    • Southampton Village, Coopers Beach
    • Southampton Village, Main Street (South)
    • Southampton Village, Main Street (North)
    • Southampton Village, Main Street (Hildreths)
    • Westhampton Village, Main Street (East)
    • Westhampton Village, Rogers Beach
  • Public WiFi
    • Public WiFi Map
    • Public Wi-Fi Support
No Result
View All Result
Hamptons.com
July 2, 2013

Tennis In The Hamptons: Playing With Pros

T.J. Clementeby T.J. Clemente
in Entertainment
Home Entertainment

Playing tennis in the Hamptons always adds some extra zest to playing that wonderful game. Yes, it is the game with those racquets and those fuzzy balls that you have to hit on the first bounce. Then there’s that scoring system that makes no sense with sets, games, love, advantage not to mention all those deuces. The real problem is the players.

The players are getting older. When I last spoke to East Hampton Indoor Tennis General Manager Scott Rubenstein, he said the medium age of the players is “greying.” Rubenstein, who has been a staple of the Hamptons tennis scene for years, loves the game of tennis. He seemed sort of broken hearted as he explained how the young students of the game just are too bombarded with other options for their free time. “No one just hangs around like they use to,” Rubenstein went on to say. “Too often they come they play, practice, take a lesson and leave.”

Michael Milken, Courtney Ross, and David Koch. (Photo: T.J. Clemente)

The demographics from the USTA portray a robust over 40’s league, with competition participation that is stronger in the older age brackets. One team captain told me he has intact the same team he fielded 20 years ago, laughing, he said, “We just don’t do as well in three set matches!” He also said it’s tough to sit a loyal player for a new guy after so many years of service to the team.

Yet the new players are better than ever with power games that blow old-timers off the court. When I was 50, I played the reigning NY State 18 and under champ James Moore, who later played #1 at Columbia. Our match was the first round of the New York Athletic Club Championships. Within minutes my goal was to not to win, but to just not get hurt as serves whizzed at me at over 120 MPH. I lost 6-1, 6-1 but truth be known James Moore, who had known me his whole life, actually went out of his way not to bury me.

Over the years I have had fun covering or attending many Pro-Ams and fund raising tournaments in the Hamptons. One favorite was at the still new wonderful Ross School Tennis facility. Michael Milken raised $1 million for prostate cancer in one day while high net individuals ponied up tens of thousands to team with pros like Jimmy Conners, Johan Kreik, and Jimmy Arias to help raise money to fight that cancer. The Ross School also has held its own pro-am and round robin events to raise funds for School programs, scholarships and charities. In recent years the Jim Grabb, Andre Agassi, Venus Williams, and Serena Williams have stopped in at the fundraisers as well as numerous local celebrities like Christie Brinkley and Alec Baldwin.

My tennis mentor and friend, William J. Tully, player in 14 U.S. Championships (now the U.S. Open) and winner of the 1947 Canadian Open, who is now in his mid 80’s, reminisced about tournaments he played at the Meadow Club in Southampton. There he opposed the likes of Bobby Riggs, Jack Kramer, Bill Talbert, and Gardner Malloy, who all played to tune up on the grass courts before the U.S. Championships, then played on grass at Forest Hills. In the days before the tiebreaker, Bill played the great Poncho Gonzalez at the Meadow Club in the mid-1950’s losing 9-7, 6-3. “Wow! He said, “That guy was tough.” I hope to see many of you on the courts throughout the Hamptons this year.

Luke Jensen and Jimmy Conners. (Photo: T.J. Clemente)



Where To Play?

Sportime in Amagansett is the largest Hamptons tennis facility with 34 outdoor courts, most being of har-tru, which is crushed pebbles, a surface that is easy on the legs, cooler and dries faster. East Hampton Indoor Tennis, located on 175 Daniel’s Hole Road in East Hampton, has 20 outdoor har-tru courts and eight indoor courts which are open all year.

Buckskill Tennis Club, located on 178 Buckskill Road in East Hampton, is the only public club with “grass courts,” three of which for public use. They are therefore the only public facility in the Hamptons with all three major surfaces used in tennis – har-tru, grass, and the hard courts called deco-turf (cork, asphalt and cement).

Montauk has public facilities at Montauk Downs and on Westlake Drive and most of the high schools in the Hamptons have public courts available when school is not in session. There are town courts also, as well as ones at many of the resorts.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter!

Get the top Hamptons events and latest scoop!

What's Happening in the Hamptons

Related Posts

Hamptons Fine Art Fair- Opening Night Vernissage
Entertainment

Top Hamptons Events This Weekend: July 11th, 2025

July 14, 2025
The Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Presents 11 Concerts Inspired by Literature
Entertainment

The Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Presents 11 Concerts Inspired by Literature

July 8, 2025
Emma Roberts, Remi Bader, and More Attend NYLON’s Residency at The Surf Lodge
Entertainment

Emma Roberts, Remi Bader, and More Attend NYLON’s Residency at The Surf Lodge

July 4, 2025

Search Articles

No Result
View All Result

LOCAL EVENTS

Events

15
Jul
15
Jul
-
15
Jul

String Art

July 15 @ 02:00 PM - July 15 @ 03:00 PM
The Hampton Library
15
Jul
15
Jul
-
15
Jul

Mosaics and Milkshakes

July 15 @ 04:00 PM - July 15 @ 05:00 PM
2478 Main Street Bridgehampton ny 11932
15
Jul
15
Jul
-
15
Jul

Please join us at The Sail to Sable Cabana in Westhampton Beach to sip, shop, & support the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center!

July 15 @ 05:00 PM - July 15 @ 07:00 PM
77D Main Street, Westhampton Beach, NY
15
Jul
15
Jul
-
15
Jul

Cristalino + Camp Caviar Dinner

July 15 @ 06:00 PM - July 15 @ 09:00 PM
El Verano, 10 Windmill Ln, Southampton, NY 
15
Jul
15
Jul
-
15
Jul

Cristalino + Camp Caviar Dinner by Chef Julian Medina in collaboration with Chef Cosme Aguilar.

July 15 @ 06:30 PM - July 15 @ 09:30 PM
10 Windmill Lane Southampton, NY 11968
Load more listings
Next Post
Water Mill Members Hosts 21st Annual Members’ Art Exhibit

Water Mill Members Hosts 21st Annual Members' Art Exhibit

    Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube
    Hamptons.com

    Saunders Broadcasting Corp.

    Phone: 631-613-8440
    Email: [email protected]
    Facebook: Facebook.com/HamptonsOnline
    Twitter: @Hamptons
    Instagram: @HamptonsOnline

    About Us | Contact Us

    Hamptons.com

    • Lifestyle
    • Events
    • Real Estate
    • Live Cameras
    • Public WiFi

    Subscribe

    Sign up for our weekly newsletter!

    Get the top Hamptons events and latest scoop!

    © 2025 Hamptons.com | All rights reserved
    Saunders Broadcasting Corp.
    Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | About Us | Contact Us

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Spotlight Magazine
    • Lifestyle
      • Featured
      • Entertainment
      • Arts
      • Community
      • Dining
      • Recreation
      • Trending
    • Events
      • Events Calendar
      • Post an Event
      • Gallery
    • Real Estate
      • Real Estate Features
      • Search Real Estate
        • Open Houses
        • Search Sales
        • Search Rentals
      • Title Insurance
      • Happening In The Hamptons Podcast
    • Live Cameras
      • All Live Cameras
      • Live Weather Cams
      • Amagansett, Atlantic Avenue Beach
      • Bridgehampton, West Scott Cameron Beach
      • East Hampton Village, Main Beach
      • East Hampton Village, Main Street
      • East Hampton Village, Newtown Lane
      • Hampton Bays, Ponquogue Beach
      • Hampton Bays, Ponquogue Bridge
      • Hampton Bays, Shinnecock Fishing Dock
      • Hampton Bays, Tiana Beach
      • Long Island Aquarium | Coral Reef
      • Long Island Aquarium | Penguins
      • Long Island Aquarium | Shark Tank
      • Montauk, Downtown Circle
      • Montauk, Lars Simenson Skatepark
      • Montauk, Gin Beach & Inlet
      • Montauk, Sunset Beach & Inlet
      • Sagaponack, Sagg Main Beach
      • Sag Harbor, Foster Memorial Beach
      • Sag Harbor, Long Wharf Marina
      • Sag Harbor, Main Street (South)
      • Sag Harbor, Sag Harbor Bay
      • Sag Harbor, Windmill Beach & Bay
      • Shelter Island, South Ferry
      • Southampton, 39A to Montauk Hwy Merge
      • Southampton, Conscience Point Marina
      • Southampton Village, Coopers Beach
      • Southampton Village, Main Street (South)
      • Southampton Village, Main Street (North)
      • Southampton Village, Main Street (Hildreths)
      • Westhampton Village, Main Street (East)
      • Westhampton Village, Rogers Beach
    • Public WiFi
      • Public WiFi Map
      • Public Wi-Fi Support

    © 2025 Hamptons.com | All rights reserved
    Saunders Broadcasting Corp.
    Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | About Us | Contact Us