History
The Balcombe Tennis Club was founded before the ball was even invented. That’s how old and established it is. No, really. What members of the august Balcombe Tennis Club did before the arrival of the ball is anyone’s guess. It has been suggested that way back then, members of Balcombe Tennis Club indulged in gladiatorial combat using wooden hoops attached to a handle with bits of cat-gut strung over the hoop. Archaeological research suggests that the club has been around since well before 1066, based on artefacts found in the club house’s storeroom, which included some un-paired smelly socks (presumably what remained when a gladiatorial combatant lost a leg) and a few of these quaint, cat gut-strung gladiatorial wooden weapons.
No mention of Balcombe Tennis is made in the Domesday Book, however. We can, therefore, infer that back then it was a very secret society indeed. After nearly a thousand years in shrouded secrecy, the Tennis Club was finally brought into the public gaze in 1936 by a group of dedicated Balcombe residents, who would spend the first half of a sunny day rolling the gravel courts and the second half of the day playing tennis – covered in grey dust from rolling the gravel. Things have moved on since then and the Tennis Club now boasts two amazing, ‘instant-action’, fenced tennis courts and a small clubhouse.
Current Objectives
Balcombe Tennis is entirely self-funded and does not receive any subsidies whatsoever. Right now, one of the Club’s chief aims is to raise money to resurface the courts in a few years’ time and to give the Club House a new lease of life.
Committee
The committee presently consists of dedicated members who work tirelessly and passionately to bring you the best tennis experience in the district.