Note – On one hand, this column is quite anecdotal.  On the other, there are a lot of wrecked public tennis courts across this country.

This sign should read “Courts Are for Tennis Play and the Cultivation of Plants that can Crack Decoturf II Only”

Klondike Park is attached to Klondike Lane Elementary School in Louisville, KY.  It is the place where I did most of the honing of my tennis game.  I lived roughly 1 mile from the park and its 3 tennis courts.  A short bike ride and some good friends who also played tennis led to any number of after school, weekend, and summer tennis tilts.  These tennis courts were rarely overly crowded, but the courts were often in use.  This was especially true when a Grand Slam event (other than January’s Australian Open) was taking place.  In the summers, these courts were used by Metro Parks for 6 weeks of tennis clinics run by area high school players that went from 9 AM to 12 PM with an hour for beginner, intermediate, and advanced middle school players.  Those days are long gone.

I was at Klondike Park today.  The tennis courts are in awful shape.  Tennis may be doing well at clubs that specialize in tennis, but I worry that public park usage is declining.

The New Madrid Faut line? No, these are the cracks in the service box and baseline areas of Klondike Park’s tennis courts

Court 3 is now a basketball court that has gotten so much use that its new surface is wearing out leaving glimpses of the old tennis court green as a memorial to better days for tennis.  Given their rates of use, Metro Parks should consider turning court 2 (and maybe even court 1) into a basketball court too.  

*Prognosis Negative is indeed a Seinfeld reference