West Side Tennis Club

Forest Hills, Queens, New York

New York, United States · Members club

World's Greatest Grass Clubs: Top 100 No. 41, Innovative Grass Clubs

Show on the map

Top 100

World's Greatest Grass Clubs

In the World's Greatest Grass Clubs Top 100

Members see the full Top 100 and this club's position. Membership is free.

See the World's Greatest Grass Clubs

No. 41, Innovative Grass Clubs

A historic tennis setting that retains grass

Primary driver: Grass-Tennis Culture & Experience

Read the full ranking and our reasoning

For sixty years the grass-court capital of American tennis.

Location: Forest Hills, Queens, New York City
Founded: 1892 in Manhattan; at Forest Hills since 1913
On the grass: The US Championships, on grass at Forest Hills until 1974
Stadium: 1923; 14,000 seats
Clubhouse: Tudor revival, 1914
Season: Members
Address: 1 Tennis Place, New York, New York, 11375, United States

Why it is special

Thirteen members founded the club in 1892 on rented courts on Central Park West. In 1913 it moved to the garden suburb of Forest Hills, and in 1915 the US men’s championships followed; the women’s championships came in 1921. Its horseshoe stadium of 1923, built in four months, was the first tennis stadium in the United States.

Much of the modern game happened on its grass. In 1950 Althea Gibson became the first Black player to compete at the US Championships here. Arthur Ashe won the first US Open in 1968, and seeding, the tie-break, equal prize money and night play were all introduced at Forest Hills. Billie Jean King’s 1974 title was the last on grass; the championships moved to clay in 1975 and left for Flushing Meadows after 1977.

The club still plays on grass, beneath the Tudor clubhouse and in the shadow of the stadium, now a concert venue. Few places hold as much of American tennis history, or show so clearly how the grass era ended.

About the club

For over 60 years The West Side Tennis Club in New York hosted the championship now known as the US Open, until the tournament moved to the National Tennis Center in Flushing in 1978. The club describes itself as America’s most historic showcase for tennis, and it plays on grass courts. Alongside its tournament history, the club provides training and game arranging for players of all levels.