Deja Vu
When you think of Las Vegas, bright lights and casinos come to mind for most. Only a few miles from the Las Vegas strip I found the Darling Tennis Center, which is close to the JW Marriott Resort (nice golf course and spa resort). It just goes to show you that we all have tendencies. When we drove up to the Darling Tennis Center, it was deja vu. We had unknowingly returned to this fantastic tennis facility that we had played on eight years ago (one of our first “tennis travel” sites). The last time we played at the Darling Tennis Center, William’s daughter was in a soccer tournament at the soccer fields next to the Darling Tennis Center. We had been dating at the time, but had brought our tennis racquets in case we had time to play tennis. We luckily had found a court on a busy weekend day and that is when our tennis travel began. After that, we brought our tennis racquets with us on all our trips. Eight years later, we were back at the Darling Tennis Center (tennis tip: Call a day or two ahead to reserve your court or sign up for a tennis clinic or lesson).
Darling Tennis Center
This tennis facility had a tennis reception area to sign in for court time or for lessons. We were on the fence whether to play singles or participate in the walk on drill. After talking to the pleasant receptionist, we decided to drill in the tennis clinic. By the way, even their website was friendly. On the home page it stated “Tennis for Everyone.” As we walked to the courts, we noticed that the facility was very clean. It had a great stadium court and 22 more lighted tennis courts. We had a great time at the 9 am tennis clinic with five others! Niclas Paalzow, our USPTA tennis professional, was fantastic. He had high energy which was contagious. He coached each person emphasizing getting into the net and keeping feet moving. We had a blast.
Darling Tennis Center, Las Vegas, Nevada – tennistravelsite.com
By the way Las Vegas is set at over 3000 feet altitude. When we were on the tennis court everyone asked us if we noticed the difference in hitting tennis balls at 3000 feet. We quickly noticed that you had to put a lot more spin on our shots otherwise the tennis balls would fly. We asked if they used high altitude tennis balls but they said they weren’t high enough for that (Lake Tahoe uses high altitude tennis balls. You cannot play tennis with regular tennis balls in high altitude areas).
Tennis drill:
Fast paced drill for one and a half hours Warm up Approach shot volley volley drill Approach shot volley overhead Rubber band drill. Warm up volleys two at a time moving together at net One up one back drill attack drill
At the end of our drill, the locals asked if we would be joining them in the drill the next day, and how long were we staying. Reluctantly we told them we were leaving that afternoon, but we would love to come back. We felt very welcome at the Darling Tennis Center!
Darling Tennis Center, Las Vegas, Nevada – tennistravelsite.com
We love that we can play tennis anywhere and feel at home! On our flight back from Las Vegas our seatmates behind us said they noticed our tennis bag. They asked us where did you play tennis in Las Vegas? They also admitted that they were (also) obsessed with tennis. We were happy to share our tennis experience in Las Vegas. It was great to share that you can have a great Las Vegas experience with tennis!
Point of Interest:
Darling Tennis Center, 7901 W Washington Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89128, 702-229-2100
Camera Roll:
Disclosure:
We are a proud participant in the Marriott Affiliate Program and with Lacoa Sports, designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Marriott.com and Lacoa Sports.