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The Institute

Eight clay courts, fourteen coaches, and thirty-one years on the same ground.

A coach working through footwork with a player during an outdoor session Close view of a player's feet and racket on crushed clay Est. 1994
Our story

One surface, taught properly, for thirty-one years

The club was built around a single conviction: clay teaches patience that hard courts never will. Longer rallies, worse footing, more decisions per point. Players who learn here arrive at hard-court tournaments already used to constructing points rather than ending them early.

We keep squads small — never more than four to a coach — and every hour is filmed. You leave with clips, not adjectives.

  • 01
    Four players per coach, maximum Enough live-ball reps that nobody spends the hour standing in a queue.
  • 02
    Every session filmed and clipped Two fixed cameras per court. Your clips land in the member app before you reach the car park.
  • 03
    Courts groomed between blocks Lines swept and surface watered on the hour, so the ninth booking plays like the first.
8 Championship clay courts, two under cover
31 Years coaching on the same ground
2,400 Members across three sister clubs
40 Juniors placed into college programs
How it runs

Your first four weeks

The sequence is the same for a twelve-year-old and a returning club player. It exists so nobody spends a term guessing what they are working on.

WEEK 01

Assessment hour

A full hour on court with a head coach. Stroke video, movement screen, and an honest read on what is actually costing you points.

WEEK 02

Written plan

Two technical priorities, one physical, one tactical. Short enough to remember, specific enough to measure.

WEEKS 03–04

Blocks on court

You settle into a weekly rhythm — squad, private, or both — with the plan pinned to every session sheet.

ONGOING

Review and reset

Every six weeks we re-film the same strokes and compare side by side. Priorities change only when the footage says so.

The grounds

Eight courts, one surface, no compromises

Har-Tru clay laid over a crushed stone base, rolled every morning and watered on the hour. Two courts sit under a permanent canopy so the winter block never moves indoors to a different surface.

Aerial view of a player alone on a red clay court
Courts 1–4 · Championship clay
Ball cart standing ready on an outdoor court
Ball-machine bays
Two players rallying on a covered clay court
Covered courts
A hand holding practice balls above the net
Stringing room
The staff

Fourteen coaches. Four you'll meet first.

Every coach on the floor holds a national certification and spends at least twenty hours a week actually on court. None of them are booking-desk staff with a whistle.

Portrait of Marisol Duarte Head Coach

Marisol Duarte

Clay program lead. Builds points from the backhand corner and expects you to enjoy it.

18 yrs coaching Ex-ITF
Portrait of Theo Brandt Performance

Theo Brandt

Movement and conditioning. Runs the sliding clinic that most members book twice.

S&C certified Movement
Portrait of Amara Osei Juniors

Amara Osei

Pathway director. Handles the tournament calendar and the conversations with parents about it.

Ages 8–17 40 placements
Portrait of Nikolai Petrov Match play

Nikolai Petrov

League and strategy. Watches more opponent footage than anyone on staff and shares all of it.

Tactics League chair
Members

What actually changed for them

Collected from members at their six-month review, lightly trimmed for length and printed with permission.

Visit us

The gate is open from six in the morning

Drop in, walk the courts, and talk to whoever is on the floor. No appointment needed, and nobody will put you on a mailing list for looking around.

Book a trial hour

Send this and the front desk calls you back the same day with two or three slots that fit.