07 May 2026
Summer is upon us, and it’s time to dust down your racket and take to the court. Old Albanians Tennis Club are opening their doors to all this weekend, and they’d love to have come you along to join in try out the club, meet the people and coaches, and have a wonderful time.
Aside from it being incredible fun, tennis offers great wellbeing and social benefits. In terms of physical health, The Copenhagen City Heart Study, which followed more than 8,500 people for 25 years, found tennis to increase life expectancy more than any other sport in the study, up to 9.7 years! (Playing badminton may extend your life span by 6.2 years, swimming by 3.4 years, and jogging by 3.2 years).
Tennis is a short burst activity, like interval training, which provides tremendous cardio benefit. Three hours of tennis a week can reduce your risk of heart disease by 50 per cent. Add to that the increased mobility, grip strength and bone health, and there’s a recipe for maintaining and improving so many aspects of health.
Socially, tennis can do wonderful things for a person. It is inherently a social sport: intergenerational, naturally mixing genders during social play, and with lots to do off court. Isolation and socialisation are continuing pressures on individuals. Studies show that 63 per cent of people who play tennis feel less isolated. It provides a welcoming, tight-knit community that helps people connect and feel supported. There’s every opportunity to hang out and relax between or after play. You can even come along to the club as a social member to relax, watch some play, and get involved in social activities. They also have their Friday Night Social which involves some very casual social play, and a couple of drinks courtside.
It’s also great for families, household and friendship groups, where everyone can get active and develop together and with other like minded enthusiasts!
Coaching
Head coach Margie Edge leads a team of level 2 & 3 LTA qualified and accredited coaches. They have numerous prescribed courses, and also offer individual coaching.
They can also be flexible, if you work funny hours, they can work funny hours. They even have a 7am sunrise Cardio Tennis session on Wednesdays so you can get the heart pumping before your day starts. The Learn with Friends package allows you and three or more friends to take the game up together.
Taking up a new sport or walking into a new club can be quite a daunting experience. Old Albanians have a number of beginners courses for both adults and kids throughout the year and will be offering concurrent coaching sessions so you can be at the club and on court at the same time.
They take kids on from four years old (using red balls which are 75% per cent slower than yellow balls) through to adulthood. They’ll also be offering junior social play sessions as part of membership, these will be supervised by coaches and volunteers, with safeguarding and inclusivity always front of mind.
Holiday Camps: Full and Half Day camps during school holidays.
Cardio Tennis: Combining Tennis Drills and Games with a high intensity cardio workout. Cardio Tennis is a high tempo fitness class with rackets and a pumping soundtrack. Old Albanians have a couple of live sessions including sunrise cardio at 7am each Wednesday.
They also have fun tournaments, social events, team tennis and so much more to offer!
What to wear, where to stand, how to score?
The Old Albanians team are on hand to help with all of that, and they are committed to introducing people new to the game, and helping them develop to play both socially, and should you aspire to, competitively. They even have a beginners tournament at the end of the year, and perhaps the 2026 rookies can go on the represent the club in future years, so many already have, bringing great benefit to both physical and mental health?
So, why not join them for their 2026 Open Day, Saturday May 9 from 1-4pm? There will be loads of activities for all, membership incentives, a chance to meet the team, have a go at the game, play some Pickleball, BBQ, drinks, games, and also their 1.5m Tennis Dart Board sponsored by EYES on St Albans!
Old Albanians Tennis Club, The Woollam Playing Fields, Harpenden Road, St Albans AL3 6BB
They’d love to see you there: https://www.oatennis.org
