Tennis in Long Beach, CA: Courts, Clubs and Coaches in 2026

07 October 2026 · 8 min read

Long Beach doesn't get talked about as a tennis town the way Los Angeles or San Diego do, but it has a surprisingly complete ecosystem for racquet sports once you start looking: a city-run tennis center named after Billie Jean King, a historic private country club, a fast-growing set of dedicated pickleball courts, a YMCA with its own tennis programs, and at least one independent coach running lessons out of the eastside. Between the harbor breeze keeping summers mild and a parks department that has invested in resurfacing its courts, there's enough here for a beginner, a weekend pickleball convert, or someone looking to join a club team.

This guide covers what the directory currently has listed for Long Beach: where the public courts are, where the pickleball boom has landed, the one private club in the mix, and who to call for lessons. Every listing links through to its full profile, with address, phone number and current Google rating where the business has one.

Long Beach's coastal location means a milder, more consistent climate than inland Southern California cities — fewer extreme heat days in summer, but also a marine layer that can keep mornings overcast and courts damp into mid-morning near the water. That's worth factoring in if you're planning an early session at a court close to the beach versus one further inland near El Dorado Park.

Tennis court lit by golden sunset light
Photo by Tischa Francis on Pexels

Public Tennis Courts Across the City

The backbone of tennis in Long Beach is its network of city park courts, maintained by the Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine department. The largest and best-equipped of these is El Dorado Tennis & Pickleball Center, inside El Dorado Park at 2800 N Studebaker Rd. It's listed with a 4.6 rating across 160 reviews and posts hours of 7 am–9:30 pm on weekdays and 7 am–8 pm on weekends, making it one of the more reliably open facilities in the city. As the name suggests, it shares space with pickleball, which has become common at Long Beach's larger court complexes.

On the north side of town, Scherer Park Tennis Courts at 430 E 49th St offers a smaller, neighborhood-scale option with a 4.5 rating. Like most stand-alone park courts, it's a walk-up facility rather than a staffed reservation center, so it's best treated as a first-come option rather than somewhere to count on for a fixed time slot.

The directory also has several other park courts around Long Beach — Los Cerritos Park, Marine Stadium and Marina Vista Park among them — each with its own hours and access rules. The Long Beach tennis courts category page is the fastest way to see the full list, and the Long Beach city page rolls up every tennis-related listing in one place, regardless of category.

Campus Courts: Access Rules Are Different

Two of the courts in the directory sit on school campuses rather than in open parks: Tennis Courts at Millikan High School (3.6 rating) and LBCC Tennis Courts at Long Beach City College (3.0 rating). Campus courts are a common source of confusion in any city — they're built primarily for the school's own teams and physical education classes, and public access, where it exists, is usually restricted to specific hours when the campus isn't in session for classes or practice. Before driving to either one, call the school directly or check the Long Beach Unified School District or LBCC athletics pages to confirm whether outside play is currently allowed, rather than assuming a court behind a fence is open to the public just because it appears on a map.

Player hitting a pickleball shot on an outdoor court
Photo by Pexels contributor on Pexels

Long Beach's Pickleball Boom

Pickleball has arrived in Long Beach in a real way, and it shows up as its own category in the directory rather than as an afterthought at tennis courts. DeForest Park Pickleball Courts at 6255 De Forest Ave carries a 4.7 rating and is open daily from 7 am to 10 pm, among the longer daily windows of any court listed in the city.

Closer to downtown, Veterans Park Pickleball Courts LB at 101 E 28th St has the highest rating of any racquet-sport listing in the city at 4.8. It's a Los Angeles County-maintained facility inside Veterans Park, which also has a community center and other recreation amenities on site.

If pickleball is new to you, note that the public courts here don't take phone reservations the way a private club would — they operate on open play, so arriving early on weekends and being ready to rotate games with other players is the norm. For lessons specifically built around the sport, the directory also lists a pickleball-focused instructor serving Long Beach under the tennis lessons category, worth checking if you want structured coaching rather than just open play.

Both DeForest Park and Veterans Park sit in neighborhoods away from the coast, which means less marine-layer delay in the mornings than courts closer to the water. If you're choosing between the two purely on logistics, DeForest's longer posted hours make it the more flexible option for an evening session after work, while Veterans Park's slightly higher rating and community-center setting make it a reasonable pick if you want other amenities nearby, like restrooms and shaded seating, during a long pickleball session.

The City's Flagship: Billie Jean King Tennis Center

Named for the Long Beach native and tennis legend, Billie Jean King Tennis Center at 1040 Park Ave is the city's other major public facility, holding a 4.6 rating across 117 reviews. It keeps the same hours as El Dorado — 7 am–9:30 pm on weekdays, 7 am–8 pm on weekends — and is run through the same city parks department, so the booking process and any posted fees follow Long Beach's current recreation fee schedule rather than a private membership structure. Given the name recognition, it's worth checking the city's parks website directly for any programming, clinics or tournaments tied to the center before you visit.

Private Clubs: Virginia Country Club

For players who want a private club rather than a public court, Virginia Country Club at 4602 N Virginia Rd is the one listed in Long Beach, with a 4.5 rating across 208 reviews. The club's own domain name, vcc1909.org, points to a founding date in the early 20th century, making it one of the older private clubs in the directory for this part of California. As a membership club, tennis is typically one of several amenities alongside golf and dining rather than the sole focus, so anyone interested should go through the club directly to ask about current membership categories, guest policies and whether tennis is included or billed separately.

Virginia Country Club

Country Clubs · Long Beach, California

4602 N Virginia Rd, Long Beach, CA 90807

4.5 (208)

Aerial view of multiple blue tennis courts
Photo by Pexels contributor on Pexels

YMCA and Recreation-Based Programs

Not every option in Long Beach is a dedicated tennis facility. Los Altos Family YMCA at 1720 N Bellflower Blvd is listed in the directory's tennis leagues and associations category, with a 4.2 rating across 56 reviews. YMCAs typically fold tennis or racquet-sport programming into a broader membership that also covers a gym, pool and group fitness classes, so it's a reasonable option for someone who wants access to courts as part of a wider fitness membership rather than a tennis-only commitment. Its hours run early — 5:30 am on weekdays — which suits players who want to hit before work.

Los Altos Family YMCA

Tennis Leagues & Associations · Long Beach, California

1720 N Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90815

4.2 (56)

Lessons and Coaching

For one-on-one or small-group instruction, the directory lists Awami Tennis Academy, serving the Long Beach area out of the Anaheim Street corridor. The business's own listing describes its coach as a U.S.-certified instructor with a background on the ITF pro circuit in the 1990s and as a junior world-ranked player; that's the operator's own description rather than something the directory has independently verified, so ask directly about credentials and experience when you call. The listing doesn't show a public rate card, which is typical for independent coaches — expect to contact them directly for current lesson pricing and availability.

Awami Tennis Academy

Tennis Lessons & Coaches · Long Beach, California

6715 E Anaheim St, Long Beach, CA 90815

5.0 (1)

Comparing Your Options

Each type of facility in Long Beach suits a different kind of player. Here's how they stack up on access and commitment:

OptionExampleAccessBest for
City park courtsEl Dorado, Scherer ParkWalk-up, first-comeCasual, drop-in play
Pickleball courtsDeForest Park, Veterans ParkWalk-up, open playPickleball players of any level
City flagship centerBillie Jean King Tennis CenterCity booking/fee schedulePlayers wanting a well-maintained public option
Private country clubVirginia Country ClubMembership requiredPlayers who want a club community and other amenities
YMCALos Altos Family YMCAMembership requiredFitness-focused players who also want a gym and pool
Independent coachAwami Tennis AcademyDirect bookingPlayers wanting structured private lessons

Always check current rates directly with each facility — public fee schedules and private membership dues change, and this directory doesn't track pricing.

Getting Started: A Practical Game Plan

If you're new to Long Beach and want to start playing quickly, the most reliable path is to start with a city park court — El Dorado or Billie Jean King if you want a larger facility, Scherer Park if you're closer to the north side — since these don't require any sign-up beyond showing up during open hours. If pickleball is more your speed, DeForest Park and Veterans Park are both worth checking, and both carry strong ratings from regular players. From there, decide whether you want a membership-based option like Virginia Country Club or the Los Altos Family YMCA for more structured access, or want to book lessons with an independent coach like Awami Tennis Academy to improve faster.

For juniors or anyone looking to compete rather than just rally, the combination of a city coach and a club or YMCA membership tends to work better than public courts alone, since structured programs are where you'll find other players at a similar level and a path toward organized play. For adults who mainly want exercise and flexibility, the public courts and pickleball parks cover most of what you need without any ongoing commitment.

The concrete takeaway: Long Beach has enough public court capacity that you don't need a membership to start playing regularly, but if you want structured programming, league play or a club community, the YMCA and Virginia Country Club are the two paths currently listed in the directory. For the complete, continuously updated list of every court, club and coach in the city, bookmark the Long Beach tennis courts category page and the Long Beach pickleball courts category page.

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