Top 10 Best Tennis Venues

Everyone must have seen at least a few seconds of a tennis match whether you are a player yourself or just a spectator. Most of the names mentioned in this list are going to be familiar as we have heard them before.

Rod Laver Arena
Melbourne Australia (http://www.mopt.com.au)
Completed in 1988, this mammoth structure can seat up to 15,000. It was named after Australia's own Rod Laver, the only tennis player in history to win two Grand Slams. Appropriately, the arena is used for Grand Slam matches, as well as a number of other events in sports and entertainment.

Roland-Garros
Paris, France (http://www.rolandgarros.com)
Roland-Garros is one of four tournaments in the Grand Slam circuit. Here, the contestants play on clay courts. Built in 1928, the stadium has been renovated many times. It recently opened to the general public year round.

Allianz Suisse Open
Gstaad, Switzerland (http://www.swissopengstaad.com)
Some of the world's best players have been coming to this Alpine resort village each summer since 1915 to play in the Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad. Perhaps no other tournament outside of the Grand Slam is so clearly a part of tennis history.

Monte Carlo Country Club
Monte Carlo, France (http://www.mccc.mc)
The Monte Carlo Country club's sumptuous setting between mountain and sea makes it an especially lovely spot to play tennis. It is home to the Monte Carlo tournament, established in 1897. The club itself opened several decades later as Prince Louse II of Monaco's ploy to capitalize on the tourists who were discovering the charms of the French Riviera. The courts are clay, and there are more than 1,800 changing rooms.

U.S Open
Flushing Meadows, New York (http://www.usopen.org)
The US Open began life in 1881 as a purely entertaining men's singles tournament in Newport. Gradually, the event expanded to include women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles. By the late 1960s, the tournament settled permanently in Queens, N.Y. today the open takes place in the Louis Armstrong Stadium. There, more than 600 amateurs and professionals gather each summer. The prize coffers are worth almost $18 million.

All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club
Wimbledon, United Kingdom (http://www.wimbledon.org)
They still play the game on grass courts here in this club south of London. There are other kinds: five shale, three continental clay, one American clay, and five indoor courts. But is the grass ones that are famous, befitting the genteel image this venerable British sporting event evokes. What began as a garden party in 1877 is now a major spectacle that millions of people look forward to watching every summer.

Newport Casino & International Tennis Hall of Fame
Newport, Rhode Island (http://www.tennisfame.com)
The famous architectural firm McKim, Mead & White designed this imposing club in 1880, where members could play lawn or court tennis. The glorious grass courts are the oldest continuously used competitive courts, as well as the only ones open to the public. If you are more interested in the history of the sport than playing a round, check out the hall of fame's comprehensive collections.

La Quinta Resort & Club
Palm Springs, California (http://www.laquintaresort.com)
The sunken court within this posh resort is bordered by terraced beds of flowers and trees. If it is being used, relax; La Quinta has 22 others with clay, hard, and grass surfaces. Ten of the courts are lit for night-time games.
Palais Omnisports De Paris Bercy

Paris, France (http://www.bercy.fr)
The Bercy was modeled after New York City's Madison Square Garden. The pyramid-shaped structure and its surrounding lawns are on the Seine's Right Bank. In addition to tennis events, the Bercy - with seating for about 17,000 - is a popular venue for sporting events, operas and concerts

Generali Open Professional Men's Tennis Tournment
Kitzbuhel, Austria (http://www.generaliopen.at)
Home to the General Open Professional Men's Tennis Tournament, Kitzbuhel's spectacular clay courts along with the beautiful surroundings in the Tyrolean Alps make this a very special venue. The Kitzbuhel Tennis club opened in 1925 as a place mainly for the foreign tourists who came to the mountains in the summer. As the sport of tennis caught on, the club expanded with indoor courts. In the1990s, a new stadium opened.