A hot topic among athletes and coaches alike is the current quality of the tennis courts. The school’s courts currently have major cracks in them, which cause the ball to bounce  erratically.  The courts are difficult to play on. This tends to happen because of the current material that is used for the courts. This material is low-quality and easily breakable during winter.

Additionally, the covering that is currently used to fix the cracks does not function properly, and often sends the ball in unintended directions. The cracks tend to be caused by water leaking into the court during the winter, freezing, and expanding inside the courts. This process forms the cracks.

The most recent school team to have played on the courts, the girls tennis team, have complained about the cracks. JV player Kara Sygman said “The tennis balls bounce on the cracks, fly off in weird directions, and disrupt the flow of play. This makes it really hard for me to anticipate the ball and play my tennis.” 

It’s not just the players who take issue with the current state of the courts. The coaches also have major complaints about the quality. Varsity coach Matthew Reed said “The quality of tennis courts in general has a significant impact on a player’s ability to trust the service to perform as it should, and for the balls to have a typical bounce, as well as being able to trust their feet underneath them.” 

Another argument for court resurfacing is their popularity with the Westhampton Beach community. According to Coach Reed, “The courts are used highly frequently throughout the fall/spring/summer, so since the public enjoys tennis so much, it only makes sense to have an up-to-date tennis facility.”

I attempted to reach out to the athletic director to discover the reasons as to why the courts may have not been resurfaced, but I did not receive a reply. From my other interviews, I could deduce that the main reason that the resurfacing did not happen was due to cost. The resurfacing process is expensive, and it would take significant investment to complete the process. This seems to be the reason as to why the current systems are in place. 

At some point, the courts will degrade further, and they will have to be resurfaced. For the sake of the tennis program, the players, and the Westhampton Beach community, the courts should be resurfaced sooner rather than later.