Hartford Tennis Club has been an institution in West Hartford for close to 90 years.

By Ronni Newton

Hartford Tennis Club, which has operated on a 6-acre site tucked away in a residential neighborhood of West Hartford for nearly 90 years, is not your grandfather’s tennis club – although if you’re a longtime resident, your grandfather, or grandmother may have played tennis there.

While some people may view tennis as a country-club sport, with somewhat arcane rules and “tennis whites” the only permissible attire – and indeed a review of the history of the sport indicates strong roots in European royal society – Hartford Tennis Club prides itself on catering to members who love the game, whether they are are highly skilled and competing at a high level, or just enjoy the great exercise and getting out on the court for a friendly match on a sunny afternoon.

An AI search for the origin of the term “love” in tennis scoring (which if you don’t know means zero points) includes a theory that the term “comes from the phrase ‘to play for love of the game,'” and that’s what motivates membership in Hartford Tennis Club.

A visit to Hartford Tennis on April 14 happened to coincide with opening day for the 12 Har-Tru courts. The weather had finally warmed up, and although the opening date hadn’t necessarily been planned for that date, warm temperatures and sunny skies cooperated with the crew responsible for the preparing of the courts for the season.

Hartford Tennis Club was founded in 1937, and the 88-year-old club currently has about 390 members. The membership is capped to ensure adequate availability of court time, with reservations now made online up to a week ahead of time.

“This is the site of the original clubhouse,” said longtime member Betsy MacDermid, seated on the porch of the single-story building that replaced it in the mid-1960s and which was recently remodeled, with updates including the addition of new showers.

To the west are the 12 tennis courts, but the expansive lawn surrounding the clubhouse is also an integral part of the HTC experience, and has been the space where children of club members have made up their own games, and where generations of barbecues and other club events have taken place.

MacDermid, the club’s historian and editor of a book that chronicled the history of Hartford Tennis Club in celebration of the 75th anniversary in 2012, said it was actually started by a group of recent college graduates who were badminton players.

Ginny Garratt, also a longtime HTC member who was on the history book committee, said the founders’ goal was originally to build an indoor badminton facility, maybe with space to accommodate tennis as well, and the owner of the farm that is now Westmoor Park agreed to sell them the property. Other investors were brought in, the plans evolved, and Hartford Tennis Club was officially incorporated on July 28, 1937 as a tennis and social club, according to the club’s history “to promote the popularity and proficiency of tennis and social intercourse among its members, and to provide recreation for them.”

By 1978 the club had four clay tennis courts, and 178 members. Eventually there were 12 clay courts, eventually transitioned to the Har-Tru courts that exist today.

“It’s amazing to have this much land in West Hartford,” said MacDermid. And many people don’t even know the club is there, with only recently a stone marker with the letters “HTC” added alongside the semi-hidden driveway at 25 Flagg Road, which is just west of the Bishops Corner shopping center but east of Westmoor Park’s entrance.

“All has been built by volunteers … this whole place, generations and generations,” Garratt said.

“It’s geared around friendship and tennis,” added MacDermid. It’s not trying to be a dinner club, or have a bar, or pool, or add any other sports. Pickleball, platform tennis, or or the addition of lights for night play have been brought up as options over the years, but there are noise and lighting constraints that come from being in the middle of a single-family residential neighborhood, and they aren’t permitted to expand the footprint of the clubhouse beyond its existing foundation, so HTC has remained true to its original mission and brand, and plans to stay that way.

Dues have also been kept to a minimum, with memberships currently costing $482, and additional assessments are rare. The initiation is discounted for those who join before Memorial Day, and details can be found here.

HTC has always welcomed men, women, and children to use its courts.

At times there has been a lengthy wait list to become a member. “When I first came here and was interested in tennis, if you put your name in it took seven or eight years,” MacDermid said.

Hartford Tennis Club hasn’t needed to advertise to reach potential members. “If you were a tennis player, you had heard of it,” said Eve Bendett, also a long-time member.

Despite being low-key in some respects, however, the club prides itself on the quality of its courts. “One of the unique things is we have the best groundskeepers,” Bendett said. Joe Martin, who has been the head groundskeeper since 2002, refers to the courts as his “12 adopted children,” she said.

They also have a full-time pro (Quat Vu) and director of operations (Tanner DeVarennes), and employ sweepers to maintain the courts.

HTC has also had top-notch talent among its members over the years, including Shirley Fry, a West Hartford resident and winner of 17 Grand Slam tennis titles in the 1950s. After retiring from professional tennis, she continued to play in USTA events, or pick up a casual game with another club member. Fry died in 2021 at age 94.

“Here we had this exceptional, world-renowned tennis player that just mingled among us,” said MacDermid.

“She’d sit here, and a kid would come up, and she’d say, ‘Want to hit,'” Garratt said. “It was about the love of the game, the respect, the friendships,” and the club is still that way, she said. “This is an anchor for me.”

Garratt used to live in the neighborhood and as a kid would ride her bike to HTC. There was, and still is, a junior tennis program.

“The beauty is this club exists in a neighborhood,” Garratt said.

“We’re aware that it’s not easy to break into a club, but we have events to welcome new members,” MacDermid said. “Anybody can find a game that suits their level.”

“The beauty is great courts and a deep community that plays at all levels,” Bendett said.

There’s also drop-in tennis on Wednesdays from 5-7 p.m. “Just come play,” Bendett said. There are also social events to bring members together for tennis followed by food.

The official season is Memorial Day through Labor Day, but the club opens as soon as possible in April and stays open late into the fall if weather permits.

Some who belong to HTC also belong to other clubs, including those who play on the USTA circuit, but they do also offer inter-club play, member-guest events, and club tournaments. There are also lessons available, and a junior program.

The Walter Ramp-Shirley Fry Senior Men’s and Women’s Jubilee is a USTA-sanctioned event held each summer and MacDermid said it’s one of the best senior tournaments in New England. Rapp, an avid and accomplished local tennis player who continued playing tennis until the end of his life, died in 2002 at age 93.

Programs are geared to what members want and need, Garratt said.

Hartford Tennis Club invites anyone interested in membership to attend an open house on Sunday, May 4, from 1 t0 4 p.m. The rain date is Sunday, May 18. “Stop by to learn more about our clinics, junior programs, league play and social tennis,” the flyer states.

For more information about Hartford Tennis Club, visit the website.

Like what you see here? Click here to subscribe to We-Ha’s newsletter so you’ll always be in the know about what’s happening in West Hartford! Click the blue button below to become a supporter of We-Ha.com and our efforts to continue producing quality journalism.