Philippines – Primal Tennis

Cebu City, Philippines is a wonderful city to play tennis in. There are many courts, both public and private, scattered around the city. It is easy to find a match based on your current level because of the many players that are passionate about the sport. In Cebu City, the two most popular tennis facilities are Asmara and CitiGreen. Both facilities are public but require a reasonable court fee payment. You can book a court in advance to play with your friends, or hire a tennis pro for a lesson. In addition, there are Villa Aurora, Cebu Country Club, and Casino Espanol facilities that have tennis courts. In order to play at private facilities such as Cebu Country Club and Casino Español, you will need an invitation from a member to play as a guest there, or pay an expensive membership fee for a yearly contract. Brief Overview of Cebu City Tennis Tennis in Cebu is considered one of the most popular sports, ranking second to basketball, and even with volleyball and badminton. Every small-town province seems to have their own local tennis court where players show up every afternoon for pickup games. The level of play is based off the tennis facility you choose to visit, and varies from beginners to high-level advanced play. I’ve found the best competition to be at Villa Aurora and CitiGreen. Asmara has lots of intermediate play and fantastic tennis instructors. CitiGreen has the most amount of instructors, but only two courts. One nice feature of Cebu tennis is that most of the courts are made of tan-colored clay, although there are a few are hard courts. The clay is gathered from local resources and plays similar to red clay in Europe or green Har-Tru clay in the United States. Another awesome perk is the ball boys that come with your court. In Cebu, every facility has a ball boy(s) assigned to your court to fetch balls between every point. And the price is always very reasonable, around 50 pesos per hour/per court ($1 US Dollar). Ball boys make the experience of playing tennis better and more convenient. It also helps the kids and their families with a little extra money. I love Filipino style tennis, which is to play pickup games. People show up in the morning or afternoon, and the matches will get worked out based on your current level. It’s awesome to not have to worry about finding partners beforehand or booking a court. After your match, just wait your turn to play again. (Asmara and CitiGreen do not do this. You need to book a court.) Another Filipino tennis feature is the “commercial” games, which place a wager on your match. Most matches/players do not gamble, and do not feel pressured to do it. But that option is there if you want to add a little spice to your matches. Where to Play Tennis in Cebu - Public Courts Asmara Urban Resort & Lifestyle Village Asmara is my favorite tennis facility in Cebu City, located in the Banilad barangay. They have three tan-clay tennis courts, with a two-story restaurant/bar/lounge over-looking the tennis courts. On the other side of the lounge is a swimming pool and the Asmara Hotel. The cost to rent a court is 300-500 pesos per hour depending on the time of day, which you can split with your partners. You need to book in advance or there might not be a court available for you. The busiest times are the early morning and the afternoon around 4pm, which can be hard to book a court. They do have improved lights for night play. I played the majority of my tennis at Asmara, and it is my favorite tennis club in Cebu City. Asmara has several good tennis instructors, and also a few good players you can hire for a hitting partner. Tennis instructors cost around 500 pesos per hour in addition to your court rental fee. Hitting partners are cheaper, around 200-300 pesos per hour. Ball boys come with the court and cost 50 pesos per hour. For an additional 50 pesos, you can hire a line judge to call balls and keep score. Asmara does not do racquet restringing or sell any equipment like balls or racquets, so you will need to pick those up at the mall (Ayala or SM City) before coming. The Italian owner, Carlo, is often on-site and an avid tennis player himself. He is a luxury furniture manufacturer, and the lounge is fitted with his beautiful work. It’s a very nice and warm atmosphere. Also, the Italian restaurant has very good food there. At night, the lounge turns into a nightclub/dance floor so be sure to check that out too. CitiGreen Tennis Resort Cebu CitiGreen is a two-court tennis facility, the only one in Cebu that has authentic red-clay courts. The courts are well-maintained and play fantastic. CitiGreen has the only courts in Cebu city with a covered roof. Don’t overlook this feature because it protects you from both the tremendously hot sun, and allows play during the rain. The Philippines has a rainy season (June – November), in which it rains a good amount. Even during rainy season I still found myself playing a lot of tennis because there is plenty of dry time too. Citigreen's beautiful red clay and covered roof They have a large amount of tennis instructors (6) that you can take lessons from or book as a hitting partner. CitiGreen has a pro shop that sells tennis balls, strings, stringing services, and apparel. They also sell drinks, coffee, and snacks. The biggest downside to CitiGreen, in my opinion, is the location of the courts. They are not conveniently located if you are staying near Ayala, IT Park, or Mango avenue. Most taxi drivers do not know where the courts are and you’ll have to help navigate to find them. Please note that the courts are usually fully booked every day. That is a good sign of a vibrant tennis community, and one that enjoys playing their tennis at CitiGreen. Just make sure you book several days in advance. Villa Aurora Tennis Club Villa Aurora is a tennis club in Cebu City and one of my favorites. They have two tennis courts made of the tan-colored dirt found abundant in the Philippines. Villa Aurora is a grassroots local club where local Filipino players play. They have no website or advertisements, just a Facebook Page - Villa Aurora Tennis Club. Tennis at Villa Aurora was fun and competitive Not many foreigners play there, in fact, I never saw a single foreigner other than me while I was there. The club was recommended to me by a fellow Filipino tennis player, saying that there was good competition there. In my experience, I found this to be true, as I lost a close doubles match there. Onsite, Villa Aurora has a small snack shop where you can buy drinks, water, and snacks. Private Courts Cebu Country Club Most people know Cebu Country Club as the main golf course club in Cebu. However, they also have three clay tennis courts. The biggest drawback is that guests are not allowed to play tennis there without an invite from a member. Or you can become a member for an expensive membership fee. Just before dusk. Tennis at Cebu Country Club. Love the chalked lines. Fortunately, when I was playing at Asmara, I made friends with a member at the Cebu Country Club and received an invite that way. The courts are in a great location and every taxi driver in town knows exactly where Cebu Country Club is. Casino Español Like Cebu Country Club, the Casino Español club is a member only club. They have two clay tennis courts. Guests can play there if they receive an invitation from a member. Or you can buy a membership yourself, which does not come cheap. I played a good amount at Casino Español. Very welcoming and friendly players. The coolest thing about Casino is that it is a whole world in of itself. Onsite they have a restaurant, a church, a full-sized gym, swimming pool, and more. It is like a 5-star country club. During play, people order buckets of beer, food, and watch the matches. I had some of my most fun in Cebu hanging out at the Casino’s tennis courts. Being the closest courts to Fuente Circle (a Cebu landmark), they are located in a great place. Tennis Equipment in Cebu Fortunately, there are several options for tennis equipment in Cebu City. Racquet stringing is quite affordable compared to the US and Europe, as the labor for stringing is around 100 pesos ($2 dollars). STL Sports STL Sports is the best tennis store in Cebu City. There you can buy tennis racquets, tennis shoes, tennis balls, and all your tennis accessories. It is the only place in Cebu with a good selection of racquets and shoes. And they do racquet restringing as well. Chris Sports Chris Sports, located in Ayala Mall is my favorite place to get my racquets restrung. They have done a good job every time and have a decent selection of strings. They don’t sell racquets or shoes. Metro at Ayala Mall Metro is a large store, similar to a Wal-Mart where you can buy practically everything. On one of their floors you can buy tennis balls, grips, and some other tennis equipment. There are several Metro’s in the area, with the largest being at Ayala mall. If you are at Ayala, I always found it convenient to swing by Metro and pickup tennis balls. I hope you enjoyed this article and hope it helped you on your tennis journey. Please don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @primaltennis and subscribe to my YouTube channel – Primal Tennis.