CityView Racquet Puts A New Spin On City Tennis
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Any serious tennis player knows sometimes you reach breaking point even before match point trying to find an open court in the city. NY1 Health and Fitness reporter Kafi Drexel visited a new indoor option in Queens that puts a new spin on tennis in the city.If it is getting too cold to wait in line for tennis court time along the likes of the West Side Highway or East River these days, the professionals at CityView Racquet are hoping you might take your game indoors this season.
Recently opened, the tennis club sits on the rooftop of Long Island City's historic Swingline Stapler Building serving up seven clay courts.
"I think that the owners, when they had CityView in mind, they wanted a club above. And it really was designed to be a destination," said Maggie Stevens, general manager of CityView.
It's not just your typical indoor-tennis bubble. The club comes complete with squash courts, fitness training, a spa and locker room area that you might never want to leave, a pro-shop with customized stringing services – along with a lounge area that comes complete with a fire place to keep you warm after a tough workout on those cold winter nights.
Back on the tennis side, they've come up with "Love Fit," a six-week training session which combines tennis with a cardio drill workout.
"It works specific muscle areas that are targeted toward tennis," said tennis pro Gabrielle Baker. "So it's a great program and we're excited about it."
Members say they think it will definitely help improve their game.
"Since I'm kind of coming into the sport and I want to come in strong, I feel like the personal training aspect of it and the activities and practices that are happening between the strength training and the agility are really going to cross over well into the tennis court," said player Christina Lenahan.
But all the luxury perks and the training still come with a luxury price tag, with fees ranging anywhere from $100 to over $400 a month.
The beauty of the "Love Fit" program is it is being offered to non-members from December through January as an introduction to the club.
So for tennis-diehards, "Love Fit" could be a way of getting your foot in the door. There are also off-peak hour deals.
"We just started," said Stevens. "It's really exciting. Our night-out program is from nine in the evening until midnight, because we are open seven days a week until midnight. And we've just reached out to a lot of the colleges, a lot of the students there that really couldn't afford to play tennis, and more importantly didn't have a place to play tennis, and now they do."