Tennis On The Lake – Jonquil Park

Tennis On The Lake at Jonquil Park brings structured youth and adult outdoor tennis instruction to the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Located at 1001 West Wrightwood Avenue at the intersection of Wrightwood, Lincoln, and Sheffield Avenues—just steps from the northern edge of DePaul University and the Fullerton CTA Red, Brown, and Purple Line station—Jonquil Park is a scenic neighborhood park featuring two LED-lighted outdoor hard tennis courts alongside a fenced children’s playground with summer water sprayers, a baseball diamond, concrete picnic tables with chess boards, and shaded walking paths. This neighborhood park layout makes it especially convenient for caregivers with multiple children of different ages, as younger siblings can play in the adjacent enclosed playground while older kids participate in structured tennis clinics.

From spring through autumn, Tennis On The Lake operates consecutive multi-week outdoor sessions at Jonquil Park, offering after-school junior classes, weekend youth lessons, adult group clinics, and private or semi-private instruction. Junior programs cater to children and teens ages 5 to 17 of all experience levels and follow the USTA QuickStart format combined with the exclusive TOTL training system. Young players ages 5 to 7 use larger, low-compression red balls and smaller 36-foot court boundaries with modified nets to master grip fundamentals, swing paths, and rallying without frustration. Intermediate age brackets—split into ages 8 to 10 and ages 11 to 13—transition to medium-speed orange balls and slower green-dot balls on 60-foot and regulation courts, while high school players ages 14 to 17 focus on live-ball drills, serve-and-return strategy, and competitive point construction.

Each class combines movement-based cardio warm-ups, technical stroke production feeding drills, and cooperative or competitive games designed to foster court awareness, consistency, and good sportsmanship. Coaches are thoroughly trained in the TOTL system to keep lines moving and ensure active participation in a fun, creative environment. Families who register for more than one class within the same session qualify for multi-class discounts, and flexible single-class drop-in bookings open after the first week of each session for levels above Beginner 1.

Like all Tennis On The Lake venues, Jonquil Park requires no club membership fees or long-term contracts. Caregivers manage class registrations, cancellations, custom schedules, and rain make-up credits directly through an online student account. Because lessons take place outdoors, families are encouraged to send children with a properly sized racquet, non-marking tennis shoes, breathable athletic wear, sunscreen, a hat or visor, and a water bottle, and to check the online court status report or call the TOTL weather hotline (312-998-7348) before class if rain is in the forecast.