Tennis On The Lake – Sheridan Park

Tennis On The Lake at Sheridan Park serves families in Chicago’s Near West Side, Little Italy, and University Village neighborhoods from the outdoor tennis courts at Philip Henry Sheridan Park, located at 910 South Aberdeen Street. Situated in a vibrant, family-oriented community near Taylor Street and the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) campus, Sheridan Park provides modern outdoor hard tennis courts alongside a three-story historic fieldhouse, playground facilities, athletic fields, and open green spaces. Through its seasonal outdoor programming running from spring to autumn, Tennis On The Lake makes professional youth and adult tennis instruction accessible to Near West Side families without requiring a drive to the North Side lakefront.

Youth programming at Sheridan Park welcomes junior players ages 5 to 17 across after-school and weekend class schedules. Instructors trained in the proprietary TOTL teaching methodology group students by both age and playing ability—allowing skilled younger players to advance to older groups when ready—so that first-time beginners and experienced junior athletes alike receive appropriate pacing and challenge. For children ages 5 to 7 and 8 to 10, classes incorporate USTA QuickStart equipment—including larger, slower red and orange low-compression tennis balls, scaled 36-foot and 60-foot court lines, and modified nets—so young learners can develop proper swing mechanics, hand-eye coordination, and rally consistency right away. Pre-teens and teenagers ages 11 to 13 and 14 to 17 work on groundstroke depth, net play, serve placement, and tactical point play using green-dot and regulation tennis balls.

Every lesson is divided between technical feeding drills that build repeatable muscle memory and structured game-based scenarios that teach court positioning, scoring, and good sportsmanship in an active, upbeat environment. In addition to youth after-school and weekend group lessons, Sheridan Park hosts adult beginner through advanced outdoor classes as well as private and semi-private coaching sessions that can be scheduled for individual children, siblings, or parent-child pairs.

Tennis On The Lake operates on a flexible, session-by-session basis across the outdoor season from spring through fall, charging zero membership or initiation fees. Families who enroll in more than one class during the same session qualify for a multi-class discount on each additional registration, and missed classes can be rescheduled or redeemed for make-up credits via the self-service online student portal. Single-class drop-in spots are also available after the opening week of each session. Caregivers are advised to dress children in non-marking tennis shoes and breathable athletic wear, pack plenty of water and sunscreen, and check the daily online class status banner or call the TOTL weather hotline (312-998-7348) prior to start times on rainy days.