History

The Place for Tennis in Venice FL

Courtside delivers everything a tennis player needs and wants in their favorite place to play tennis! USPTA certified tennis professionals provide lessons, clinics, coaching for adults and juniors, and club activities for every age. The club hosts competitive leagues; USTA men’s women’s and mixed doubles, Tri-Cities Women’s league, and Suncoast Men’s leagues, along with individual Flex leagues and Ultimate tennis. We also offer club round robins, junior summer camps, ladder games and inter-club competition for singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

Courtside features:

• 11 courts- 9 Har-Tru clay courts and 2 hard courts
• Private and semi-private lessons/weekly clinics
• Ball machine
• 3,000 sq. ft. clubhouse with a kitchen, bathrooms and showers
• Screened patio and outdoor entertainment area
• The Alley apparel and convenience store

Click on our Membership and Pricing page to view the different levels of membership.

Courtside Tennis Club History (Circa 1977)

Courtside Tennis Club is getting ready to mark a major milestone—its 50th anniversary! As the oldest member operated tennis club in the Venice area, Courtside has been a special part of the community for generations.

The club opened in October of 1977, thanks to the vision and determination of Philip Baker, a tennis professional and restorer of early New England homes, and his wife, Harriot. After purchasing the property on N. Auburn Road for $45,000, they gathered a group of 50 enthusiastic tennis players who shared a simple goal: to create a welcoming tennis club close to home. From that shared vision, a nonprofit, member-owned club was born—built by members, for members.

In its early years, Courtside was truly a family effort. Phil, along with his son Peter, built the courts and handled maintenance, while Harriot managed the office, kept the books, and ran the pro shop with help from their daughter, Mardie. Joan Benton, the assistant pro, designed the Courtside logo.

Baker remained as pro and manager until August 1983. Since then, 15 different teaching pros have worked at Courtside developing it into one of the leading “soft court” tennis facilities in south Sarasota County. Sanctioned junior tournaments were held at Courtside from 1979 -1988. These launched the careers of players such as Jim Courier, Jared Palmer, Sandon Stolle and other highly ranked FTA juniors. Two sanctioned senior USTA tournaments were also held around this time, which attracted some of the finest senior tennis players in the country.

Courtside has also played a significant role in fostering regional tennis participation. In 1980, Courtside assisted in establishing what is now known as the Suncoast Men’s League, which currently includes more than 1,800 players.

Tennis professionals were eager to join the growing club, but one of the most influential in Courtsides history, is Jim Dempsey. Jim grew up in Venice, and played tennis on the team at Venice High school. He furthered his tennis career in college, and gained a scholarship to Florida Atlantic University, where he played and later coached. In 2006, Jim returned to Venice and joined Courtside in his role as Tennis Director. He brought xceptional knowledge and college level coaching to the members, and energized the developing junior tennis program.

In October of 2007, the club celebrated its 30th anniversary. At that event, the Courtside Board of Directors President, Bill Behning, honored the founder Phil Baker with a lifetime club membership. The anniversary celebration featured a round robin tournament with a special exhibition match partnering Dempsey with a 90-year-old player Chris Blunt, vs. 79-year-old founder Phil Baker, and his partner 80-year-old Lyn Abbot. It was a memorable match for the history books, with Dempsey and Blunt taking the win.

The 40th anniversary of Courtside was held in March of 2017. Among the many members that attended, Phil and Harriot Baker were present, alongside a founding member Sandy Allen, who attended the club’s groundbreaking in 1977. She served as a past president, and still plays the game today. Allen noted, “Since its very beginning, Courtside has had the reputation of being the friendliest club in town. We’ve always gone out of our way to support our full-time and seasonal members’ desires to have an outstanding tennis facility.”

Today, we are quickly approaching our 50th anniversary in 2027! It has been a journey, but we have certainly accomplished our goal. Courtside has become an outstanding tennis facility, and it is thriving with approximately 200+ full-time and seasonal members. We are so proud to have achieved such an incredible milestone in our club’s history. In the years ahead, we look forward to a renewed dedication to grow our tennis club, while remaining committed to our tradition of excellence in volunteerism and community involvement.

We welcome you to join us on the courts, as we celebrate the next 50 years sharing our passion and love of
the game.

Courtside is and will always be, “The place to play tennis in Venice!”