A Look at Fayetteville’s Tennis Scene

Watching the Wimbledon Championship this week? While it's great to watch on television, nothing feels better than when that little yellow ball connects with your racquet and lands right where you aimed for.

While Fayetteville might be one of the few cities that does not have a tennis center, there are still facilities and leagues across town to accommodate players of all skill levels. Get out your old racquet and gather some friends to practice up.

The largest tennis facilities are at Highland Country Club and Mazarik Park for leagues. Since Dark Branch closed their doors, along with the Sports Center on Cliffdale, options are limited.  Highland’s adult tennis programs include: Men’s Night, Ladies’ Progressive, Cardio Tennis and League Play.

For youth, the best bet is Highland Country Clubs 'quick start' program, the only one in our area for kids. On any given day, you can watch the beginning stages of the game taking shape with younger children. Their lessons start with an orange net on the ground, oblong ways across the court, to teach some basic awareness with their rackets as they learn some beginning skills.

"It's exciting to see kids being able to play tennis at a much younger age using the appropriate sized racquets, balls, net and scoring format adjusted to their size," said Kevin Caccia, the Director of Tennis at Highland Country Club, as he explained the idea behind the age 10 and under, Quick Start program.

Fort Bragg offers a loose group of players that join together to practice on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 5 to 7p.m. and Sunday afternoons at the courts adjacent to the Community Club and Golf Course. All ability levels show up and work drills and play against one another or in teams of doubles.

At the collegiate level, Methodist University has a quality, top-rated program.  Head Women's Tennis Coach Francie Barragan has been coaching the team since the 2005-2006 season. In her six seasons she has led the lady Monarchs to a 121-23 record with five conference championships and four conference tournament championships. Over the past six years, she has been named the USA South Athletic Conference Coach of Year five times.

Barragan is no stranger to Fayetteville, she grew up here and played tennis for Terry Sanford High School, where she advanced to three state championship squads. As a junior, she was ranked as high as #6 in the Southern Section and #90 nationally in USTA competition.

Whether you are a newbie and just hit the courts with friends for casual practice, or aim to get serious, Fayetteville tennis is thriving.