The tennis courts are a mess — what’s all the racket about?

There’s no love here anymore. There’s also no deuce, no lets and no match-points.

Piles of dirt and giant tractors now stand where the bright green and white lines of the recreational tennis courts used to be.

Because of the construction of the new baseball stadium, USC closed the recreational tennis and pickleball courts that were previously open all day, every day, where any student could play for free. Now, students are left struggling to find accommodations to play tennis on campus.

The news was initially revealed in January and has now officially been put into effect. As last updated on September 16, “Open recreation pickleball is now available on Court C of the Lyon Center Main Gym.”

Earlier this year, many students petitioned for new tennis courts to be created. However, the construction project proceeded and no information from USC has been released about future plans to open new recreational tennis courts.

When asked for comment on tennis court closures, USC PR directed Annenberg Media to the USC Student Life Recreational Sports page, which reported on August 2024, that “all courts will become unavailable beginning Monday, September 16th.”

The courts that were once accessible behind the Dedeaux Field are now enclosed with a flimsy black fence, separating the construction site from the remainder of campus.

Pearl Navratik, a sophomore studying cinema and media studies, who enjoys playing tennis for recreational purposes, said “it’s really inconvenient to play tennis because there’s not really anywhere to play.”

“We’ve had to reschedule multiple times because there’s no court availability,” Navratik said.

Irika Katiyar, a senior studying computer science, is in the beginner tennis class at USC. She said that on the first day, the professor told her class the tennis court had shut down and they had to use the David X. Marks Tennis Stadium instead.

In the past, this stadium was only used for the men’s and women’s Division I tennis teams.

“It’s sad for him as well, because I don’t think they know what the future of the tennis class is gonna be because it’s not completely feasible for us to actually play in the stadium all the time,” Katiyar said.

Katiyar says that the tennis court isn’t fully reserved for the class. Their class has to share the courts with other tennis club members.

“There’s not that many courts in the stadium. There’s like six courts,” Katiyar said. ”But a lot of the time, part of the courts are being taken up by the actual tennis players practicing.”

Richard Li, a freshman studying sociology, is a tennis enthusiast who said not having a car makes it hard for him to find alternative places to play. He’s a member of Trojan Tennis Club and now only plays once a week.

USC students had the opportunity to sign up for the Trojan Tennis Club at the beginning of the semester. It costs $40 for the semester and $70 for the school year. Students who pay these can use the David X. Marks Tennis Stadium once a week on Wednesdays from 8-10 p.m.

“One time a week is really not enough, and sometimes the time doesnt really work for me,” Li said. “Tennis was my only sport and a way to relieve my stress and the school is cutting off that way.”

Jerry Chen, a junior studying mathematics, was on the executive board of the general tennis club, so he knew about the closing earlier than most.

“Khai-Ly [Tran, vice president of the club team,] told us about how USC might remove the courts, she started a petition in the middle of the last semester, and there’s like over 1,600 signs,” Chen said.

Now, Chen and his friends go to Rancho Cienega Recreation Center, which he said is about a 10-to-15 minute drive. “It’s inconvenient for us right now,” he said.

“The motivation for me to play tennis is to meet new friends or hang out with my old friends on the court,” Chen said. “It definitely reduces the opportunity of running into cool people from USC on the courts.”

Though the solution for the tennis courts remains unknown to Trojans, many students hope the university will take into consideration how the closures affect such a wide variety of students and how it’s important for them to provide a new place for students to go.

Understanding that space may be a problem for campus, Chen said, “If USC can find or build courts nearby, that would be really ideal.”

Without them, some students said their college experience is incomplete.

“Tennis courts are really necessary for the university,” Li said.