Gouache illustration of Bonmont
Illustration from Grass Tennis (Dagda Media)

Great grass clubs · Europe

Bonmont

Golf & Country Club de Bonmont · Chéserex, Vaud

Chéserex, Vaud, Switzerland · Tournament venue

No. 16, World's Greatest Grass Clubs No. 2, Innovative Grass Clubs
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GRASS TENNIS CLUB ★ ★ ★ NO. 16 WORLD'SGREATESTGRASS CLUBS

No. 16, World's Greatest Grass Clubs

Switzerland's first grass court. The proof of concept for European expansion.

Scores out of 10: Surface Excellence 9, Historical Pedigree 7, Tournament Credentials 7, Scale & Facilities 7, Prestige & Exclusivity 9, Ecosystem Contribution 7.

See the World's Greatest Grass Clubs
GRASS TENNIS CLUB ★ ★ ★ NO. 2 INNOVATIVEGRASS CLUBS

No. 2, Innovative Grass Clubs

Building the next chapter of lawn tennis

Primary driver: Innovation & Leadership

Read the full ranking and our reasoning

Bespoke grass courts beside a twelfth-century abbey, between Lake Geneva and the Jura.

Facts

Location
Chéserex, near Nyon, canton of Vaud, Switzerland
Setting
The grounds of Bonmont Abbey, first recorded in 1123
Grass
Bespoke courts built in 2023 by Paul Reardon
On the grass
The Bonmont Tennis Masters, an eight-player exhibition each June since 2024
Disclosure
Paul Reardon, co-author of the book Grass Tennis, helps direct the event
Visitors
Invited guests at the event
Season
Members
Address
31 Route de Bonmont, Chéserex, Vaud, 1275, Switzerland

Why it is special

The golf course at Bonmont surrounds a former Cistercian abbey, first recorded in 1123, above Lake Geneva. Grass courts were built there in 2023, engineered and installed by Paul Reardon, co-author of the book Grass Tennis, and in June 2024 they staged the first Bonmont Tennis Masters, an exhibition for eight professionals in front of about 120 invited guests, organised with the agency Edge.

The event has returned each June since. What Bonmont demonstrates is that the scarcity of grass on the continent is not a problem to be worked around but the value of the thing itself. An event that could happen anywhere on clay or hard courts becomes, on grass, an event that can happen only here.

In that respect the abbey above the lake follows the same logic as the croquet club at Worple Road in 1877: using the exclusivity of the surface to create an event worth attending, and the event to fund the surface.

About the club

The Bonmont Tennis Masters is a three-day exhibition tournament at Bonmont Country Club in Chéserex, Vaud, played on 1 grass court as preparation for the grass-court season. Eight top players take part.

The event is open only to partners, who can attend matches and training sessions, meet the players and join workshops and conferences.

More grass tennis in Vaud

Bonmont Tennis Masters is one of 2 clubs in the Grass Court Atlas for Switzerland.

Official website: Bonmont Tennis Masters

Photographs

Courts at Bonmont Golf & Country Club Members see 1 more
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