For the first time in 25 years, the Archie Williams boys and girls tennis teams’ home courts will be returning to campus. The Archie Williams Athletic Department plans to refurbish the tennis courts adjacent to the Archie Williams softball field by the end of July 2025, allowing school tennis teams to play matches on campus. Prior to this project, both the boys and girls tennis teams played at the Cañon Swim and Tennis Club for Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) matches.
Based on the initial court refurbishment plan, the project will remove the wall next to the tennis and basketball courts to make room for a fourth tennis court. This court will be added over the summer during the court refurbishments. Archie Williams Athletics Director Jett Russell is unsure whether the school will remove the existing basketball hoops entirely or move them over to make room for the new court.
The Archie Williams courts have large visible cracks in the in-bounds region of each of the three courts, and will need to be repaved and repainted. According to Russell, the in-bounds region of the new courts will be dark green, and the out-of-bounds region will be light green.
While Russell declined to provide the estimated cost for this project, he believes it will reduce long-term operating costs for the tennis teams.
“It’s not cheap to hire courts. [The court refurbishment] will definitely pay for itself over time. [Plus,] it’s just good to have sports on campus, right?” Russell said.
Jeff Price, Archie Williams boys varsity tennis team coach, says the court rentals at the Canon Swim and Tennis Club cost 15,000 dollars annually. Funds have been equally distributed between the girls and boys tennis teams for court time at Cañon.
Currently, the required minimum number of courts for MCAL matches is four. After the refurbishment of the three existing courts and the addition of a fourth over the summer, the Archie Williams tennis courts will officially be a valid place to host MCAL matches.
Still, Price says it may be difficult to accommodate players on just four courts. In a traditional MCAL tennis match, 10 varsity players compete in seven matches, with some playing singles and others in doubles. Additionally, junior varsity players also compete after the varsity matches are over.
Thus, if an MCAL venue has four tennis courts for an event that will host more than seven matches, it will take longer for a team match to end due to the limited court space.
“[There are] 10 varsity spots, and two or four [junior varsity] players…will also be playing on four courts. So, match times run longer because we’re just fielding four matches per round. And if you figure one, two, or nine matches, you have to trade courts,” Price said.
Archie Williams girls varsity tennis player junior Amalya Rajparia hopes the venue change will contribute to a renewed interest in Archie Williams tennis.
“Hopefully, [the refurbishment] will bring school spirit [to the tennis matches] because we’re not 20 minutes away from our school, [so] it should be easier for people to show up to matches,” Amalya said.
The Archie Williams tennis teams will change their home court venue from the Cañon Swim and Tennis Club to the courts back on campus at Archie Williams. They will officially transition after the completion of the summer 2025 court refurbishment project, offering an easier way for community members to watch Archie Williams tennis and cheer the teams to victory.
