Tennis On The Lake – Waveland Park

Tennis On The Lake at Waveland Park serves as the flagship outdoor lakeside hub for one of Chicago’s premier community tennis instruction programs, welcoming children, teens, and adults along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Situated inside Lincoln Park at the scenic Waveland Tennis Courts in Chicago’s East Lakeview neighborhood, this location pairs sweeping lakefront breezes and park greenery with twenty well-maintained, lighted outdoor hard courts and an on-site, full-service seasonal Pro Shop located at 3655 North Recreation Drive. Families visiting Waveland Park benefit from convenient access to complimentary loaner racquets for registered students, professional racquet stringing with a wide variety of string options in stock, grip replacements, and demo racquets, making it easy for beginners to try the sport without a major upfront equipment investment.

For children and caregivers, Tennis On The Lake structures its youth curriculum around the exclusive TOTL training system and USTA QuickStart methods, which scale court dimensions, net heights, and ball compression to match each child’s physical and developmental stage. Young beginners ages 5 to 7 learn hand-eye coordination, racquet control, and foundational stroke mechanics using larger, lower-compression red balls on a modified 36-foot court with a lower net. Players ages 8 to 10 progress to medium-speed orange balls on a 60-foot court to build rallying consistency, balance, and footwork, while older juniors ages 11 to 13 and 14 to 17 train with green-dot and regulation yellow balls on 60-foot or full-size courts, focusing on topspin, shot combinations, court positioning, and competitive point play.

Throughout the summer season, the Waveland Park location hosts comprehensive weekday Junior Summer Tennis Camps. Caregivers can choose between morning half-day sessions, afternoon half-day sessions, full-day camps, and specialized High School Prep camps tailored to teenagers ages 13 to 17 aiming for their middle school or high school varsity rosters. Each camp day blends dynamic warm-ups and technical stroke development covering groundstrokes, volleys, overheads, and serves with supervised snack breaks and level-based match play games. Flexible single-day, half-day, and hourly drop-in options are also offered for families whose travel schedules prevent a full-week commitment.

No membership or initiation fees are required to enroll in group classes, after-school programs, weekend clinics, or private and semi-private lessons, and families can manage make-up credits, class transfers, and custom schedules through a self-service online student portal. Caregivers should note that parents and guests remain outside the fenced court enclosures during lessons to maintain a focused, safe learning environment, and outdoor classes are supported by an online court status tracker and a dedicated weather hotline (312-998-7348) updated prior to class start times.