The Joy of Tennis and how La Rasante spoils it

Tennis in ordinary clubs as immortalized by Martin Elliott

Martin Elliott is the owner of the copyright for this picture, displayed here for educative purposes. He took this most famous shot in 1976. The player is his then girlfriend, 18-year-old Fiona Butler, dressed in tennis gear, hitching her skirt to show her left cheek.

Martin Elliott died at his home in Truro, Cornwall, in 2010, following a 10-year battle with cancer.

The pair had borrowed a white tennis dress, racket and balls for the shot taken on a university tennis court.

The image, which featured in a calendar, shot to fame and more than two million copies were sold worldwide by Athena.

Tennis joy at L'Harassante: my humble opinion

Picture: Not taken at la Rasante, only metaphorically illustrative of Goofy tennis in the best club in the World,  Aspria La Rasante, 7 clay courts, 3 in winter, and proposed here for parody. 


Here's what's wrong, IMHO and experience:

- Tariffs are not public: each customer has to find out and negotiate for himself
- Court surfaces: appalling, hence ball trajectories are chaotic
- Booking system: hmmm, hazardous
- Enforcement of booking rules: dangerous
- Overcrowding of the club: you won't play much
- Parking often full: cars spill in adjacent streets creating local nuisance
- Management: is always right, I never heard any apology about anything
- Customer is servant: either pay and be happy, or leave, or get kicked out as in my case.

More on tennis courts:

Courts 5, 6 and 7 are covered with leaves and branches during the summer season. The worst one is number 7 which can safely be called a "potato field". 

During dry spells the watering system is not able to follow up and keep the clay humid.

Funny detail: court 1 at la Rasante is oriented East-West.

To make your own judgment, look on the web for standard tennis courts building and maintenance and compare good practice with what is done at La Rasante for yourself. You can start here: 

• Orientation: A North/South orientation is desirable for outdoor courts to avoid background glare at dawn or dusk. (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_court " )
• Maintenance of tennis courts: http://www.tennis.com.au/pages/image.aspx?assetId=RDM39630.7282419907
• Tennis court specifications http://www.actionsports-international.com/mavista/upload/File/tenniscourtsbase.pdf

In summary:
IMHO, if you want to play serious tennis look elsewhere. Other clubs in Brussels know better how to care for clay courts. For goofy tennis go for L'Harassante.