"Save our Tennis Courts" is the rallying cry at City Racquet Center

The tennis membership at the Marco Island Racquet Center wants to save their tennis courts. They think that tennis and pickleball can co-exist at the facility. Above all, they don’t want to see the city’s last public tennis courts sacrificed for pickleball courts.

Currently two of the Racquet Center’s six tennis courts are slated to be converted in to eight pickleball courts as Phase One of a two phase conversion plan for the Racquet Center. After Phase One is complete, the Racquet Center will have 18 pickleball courts and four tennis har-tru tennis courts. A group of 12 tennis members gathered Monday morning to share their feelings with the Coastal Breeze News. Phase Two calls for the elimination of all tennis courts.

"I feel like a little kid on the playground who's been knocked off the swing by the playground bullies," said Carol Halaschak. "I mean, this tennis center has been here for years. I worked here for 12 years in the office, part time. And I do remember when this facility tennis facility was deeded to the city, and it was a tennis facility, with the stipulation that it would have free play time. That was part of the deed. There isn't any reason why they can't keep some tennis courts, just because there's more pickleball players. I’ve played tennis here since 1995, three days a week. I have been captain of our league for that many years or close to that many years. And it's not only good socially for us, but it's good exercise. And my doctor says, 'Keep playing tennis. My patients who are tennis players are my healthiest people.’"

"I've been playing tennis for 50 years,” said Grace Cheng, "but I've been playing here 13 years. Tennis is the main thing that attracted me to come to this island. And we play tennis recreationally. But it is important to our life and to our physical fitness. So, I understand that they'll be taking away two courts from us. But these other four courts, it's vitally important to us and we must keep our courts here.”

“Tennis is literally a lifeline for these ladies,” said tennis member Marie Johnson. “Tennis gives them a reason to get up in the morning, to get dressed, a reason to talk to other ladies and gentlemen, a reason to exercise, a way to have fun. Please don’t take it away from them."

City Councilor Greg Folley, an avid pickleball player, was playing pickleball Monday morning at the Racquet Center. He weighed in on the Island's hot button topic.

 "I'm not biased one way or the other on tennis or pickleball,” Greg Folley said, “you know, as far as the city goes. We've got 300 people on the waiting list for pickleball, and we've got, you know, basically empty courts on the tennis side. And that really tells a story.”

What a lot of people want to know is whether the decision to totally convert the Racquet Center from tennis to pickleball is set in stone.

"We have a consensus that it's worth the study,” Folley said. “We've done a study on it. We haven't committed any money to anything other than converting two courts." 

Folley said the city is now looking for help from Collier County.

"We're actually trying to fundraise,” Folley said, "see if the county is interested. They’ve got a tourist development fund. And (fellow-city councilor) Jared Grifoni’s on that. And Jared has suggested in several meetings that we try to get some funding for that. You know how in the Olympics have locations outside the city for many events. We could be a satellite location for pickleball for Naples. We can just provide more places for people to play. And that's pretty attractive". 

Roe Zavatsky can’t believe the city wants to take away all its public tennis courts.

"Tennis has been a wonderful institution for years,” Roe Zavatsky said, “I’ve been playing since 1992, and it’s great. Look at the U.S. Open. People are still interested in tennis. I don’t understand why they want to wipe us out from here. It’s not fair. I understand pickleball is an up-and-coming thing, but we can play side by side. We can play as well as they do.”

The Racquet Center's tennis members are circulating a petition, titled “Save our tennis courts.”

“We have no place else to go,” said Carol Stanczak. "The only other option is the YMCA, and they're very, very crowded. And if we all go over there, they won't have room for us."