the problem with tennis

Every three to four years, I get an itch to play tennis. I've been playing since high school, when Tony and I would bat the ball around on the courts at Hempstead for hours on end during the summer (random memory: Tony was crazy about iced tea back then; me, not so much). I was never very good, but we were equally inept so we had a good time.

Since then, I've taken lessons off and on. I love the game, but I need to play consistently to improve. Unfortunately, Iowa winters wreck havoc on this strategy. And this is my biggest beef with the sport: it's impossible to practice or play in the winter unless you belong to a racquet club (that is, if you live in the midwest). And guess what? A racquet club can be rather expensive. I looked into fees at one in Dubuque a few years ago. This particular place hits you with charges twice - once for the monthly membership fee, and a second time for a court fee. That's right - anytime you want to play a game of tennis at this club - the same club you pay dues to every month - you must also cough up some dough just for the privilege of stepping foot on their court! Doesn't that strike you as just a little, well, stupid and/or greedy? I haven't done any comparison shopping - after all, there are just so many indoor racquet clubs in Dubuque (which is to say, one) but I suspect this is not uncommon. My question is, why? For all the United States Tennis Association's efforts to reinvigorate interest in the sport, it's expensive racquet club fees which don't help the cause of tennis (a country-wide tour of tennis pros wouldn't hurt, either). My guess is, despite the remarkable story of the Williams sisters rise from Compton, most people still consider tennis as something snobby and country-clubbish. And that's a shame.