Where to Play Tennis in New York as a Visitor
New York is one of the best cities in the world to turn up and play. The Parks Department runs 591 tennis courts across 97 park sites, from a 23-court centre in the middle of Central Park to two courts behind a playground in Queens. The catch is that none of it works the way a visitor expects: you need a permit before you step on court, the clay is concentrated in four places, and almost nowhere has floodlights. Here is what the city's own records say, and how to use them.
The permit is the part people get wrong
Almost every other city lets you walk onto a public court and play. New York does not. During the season you need a tennis permit, and park staff do check at the busier sites.
The season runs from the first Sunday in April to the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Outside it, the outdoor courts are open and free - November to March tennis in New York is cold, quiet and completely unregulated.
For a visitor the single-play permit is the one to buy. It costs $15 and covers an hour of singles or two hours of doubles, at any court in any borough. A full-season permit exists but only makes sense if you are in town for months.
Buy it in advance rather than hoping to sort it out at the court. Permits are sold online through NYC Parks, at Parks permit offices, and in person at a handful of sports shops and on-site pro shops around the city.
Where the courts actually are
The distribution surprises people. Manhattan has the courts you have heard of; Queens has the courts you can get on:
- Queens - 211 courts. The most capacity in the city, and home to Flushing Meadows.
- Brooklyn - 149 courts.
- Manhattan - 122 courts, including all the famous ones.
- The Bronx - 91 courts.
- Staten Island - 18 courts.
The big sites, and what they are actually like
A handful of parks hold a disproportionate share of the city's courts, and they are not interchangeable:
- Central Park - 23 courts, a mix of clay and hard, in a clearing near the west side at 96th Street. The most atmospheric public tennis in the city and the busiest; it takes bookings.
- Riverside Park - 20 courts split between clay and hard, spread along the Hudson at two separate locations roughly a kilometre apart. Worth knowing before you set off to the wrong one.
- Randall's Island - 20 courts on clay and rubber, and 19 of them are floodlit, which makes it the single best evening option in Manhattan.
- Crotona Park, the Bronx - 20 courts, all 20 floodlit. The most lit courts anywhere in the public system.
- Highland Park, Queens - 18 courts, all floodlit.
- Cunningham Park, Queens - 19 courts, and genuinely easier to get on than anything in Manhattan.
- The Parade Ground, Brooklyn - 11 courts including clay, next to Prospect Park rather than in it. A common navigation mistake.
Clay is rarer than you think
Public clay in New York exists at exactly four park sites: Central Park, Riverside Park, Randall's Island and the Parade Ground. Everything else in the 591 is hard court, and the overwhelming majority of that is plain asphalt rather than a cushioned acrylic surface.
That matters for what you pack. Asphalt is abrasive and unforgiving, and a pair of clay-specific outsoles will be useless almost everywhere you go.
Plan around daylight
This is the single most useful thing to know. Of 97 park sites with tennis, only seven have any floodlit courts at all. New York is not a city where you can reliably finish work and play at eight.
If an evening game is the point of the trip, your options narrow to Randall's Island, Crotona Park and Highland Park, or paying for an indoor club. In practice, visitors do far better treating tennis as a morning activity here.
Getting on a court without a reservation
The larger centres take bookings and the neighbourhood courts do not. At an unbooked site the convention is simple and widely respected: if people are waiting, you play one set or an hour, then you come off.
Weekday mornings are the sweet spot almost everywhere. Weekend afternoons in Manhattan are the worst case, and the further from a subway stop a park sits, the easier the court.
If you want a specific famous court, book it. If you just want to hit, go to Queens or the Bronx and you will almost always walk on.
Finding the nearest court to where you are staying
Our court finder has all 97 of these park sites loaded from the city's own records, with the court count, surface and lighting for each, so you can search from your hotel rather than guessing. Where the city publishes an address we show that too.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit to play tennis in New York?+
Yes, on outdoor NYC Parks courts during the season, which runs from the first Sunday in April to the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Outside those dates the outdoor courts are free to use without one.
How much is a single-play tennis permit in NYC?+
A single-play permit costs $15 and covers one hour of singles or two hours of doubles at any NYC Parks court in any borough. It is the sensible option for a visitor; the full-season permit only pays off if you are playing regularly all summer.
Where are the clay courts in New York?+
Public clay is rare. Four park sites have it between them: Central Park, Riverside Park and Randall's Island in Manhattan, and the Parade Ground in Brooklyn. Everything else in the public system is hard court, overwhelmingly asphalt.
Can I play tennis in New York at night?+
Rarely. Of the 97 park sites with tennis, only seven have any floodlit courts at all. If you want to play after dark your realistic options are Crotona Park and Highland Park, or an indoor club. Plan around daylight.
Which borough has the most tennis courts?+
Queens, comfortably - 211 of the city's 591 public courts. Brooklyn has 149, Manhattan 122, the Bronx 91 and Staten Island 18. Manhattan has the famous courts, but Queens has the availability.
Search all 591 New York public courts by surface, lights and distance from where you are staying.
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