Court usage

We ask members to book courts before playing. To see when courts are available for you to book, the table below gives an idea of when the courts are reserved for organised club activities over the course of an average week. Also look at the events page for one-off events.

For exact details in any specific week, check the calendar on the booking page on our website which will confirm when and which courts are booked for which activities.

This table is accurate from October 2025. Times and activities will change as the seasons change.

Booking courts

We require everyone to book a court before they play. Court booking is free for members.

The booking system is easy to use. There are two ways you can access it:
- the booking page on our website
- your smart phone by downloading the app ‘Booker’ by ClubSpark

If you are trying to book and you see ‘£5’ displayed in each half-hour slot (which is what ‘Pay and Play’ costs to non-members) this is because you have not signed in. To sign in on our website, click the ‘Sign in’ button top right. Booking will now be marked as ‘FREE’ for you.

There are four courts you can book:

• - Book Court 1 if you want to use the floodlights
• - Book Court 1 if you want to use the hitting wall
• - Book Court 4 to play pickleball

Please cancel your booking if you change your mind so others can book the court instead.

Please play on the court you have booked.

Any questions or problems with booking, email us at sec@bamfordtennis.org.uk

Club social drop-in sessions

Depending on the time of year, different club social tennis and pickleball drop-in sessions happen each week.

This is a good way to meet other club members. We aim to rotate partners amongst the players who are there at any session. The group organises this amongst themselves. Stay for as long or short as suits you.

If you are going down to one of these sessions, please drop a quick message in the Bamford Social Tennis WhatsApp group, or the Bamford Outdoor Pickleball group, so other people know there'll be someone there. Email sec@bamfordtennis.org.uk to get an invite to join either or both of these groups. 

For all tennis members (juniors who can serve and rally are welcome too)

• Sundays 10am, (sometimes moved to afternoon if there's a junior match in the morning)
• Mondays, 6-8pm, April to September

For team tennis members

• Wednesdays, 6-8pm, April to September

Girls and young women's tennis

• Years 3,4,5,6 (orange ball): Court 1, Tues 4-4.30pm
• Years 7,8,9 (green ball): Court 4, Sat 2-3pm
• Years 10&11 (full ball): Court 1, Wed 4-5pm

Pickleball, on Court 4

• Mondays, 10-11am
• Thursdays, 10-11am
• Saturdays, 10-11am

WhatsApp groups

There are two main WhatsApp groups you can join to find out if others are going down to the next social drop-in session for either tennis or pickleball.

You can also use these groups to arrange social play with other club members at a time to suit you.

Email sec@bamfordtennis.org.uk if you would like to join either or both of these groups.

Club tournaments

Every year we run a club tennis tournament to compete for beautiful trophies across five categories - men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles. This usually runs as series of knock-out rounds from June and over the summer, culminating in a Finals' Day in mid-September. Full details here.

We also host one-off tournaments throughout the year, usually weekend mornings.

Details of tournaments are circulated to all members, all of whom are invited to enter.

Tennis for juniors

With so many juniors coming on through the club we want to support them to play socially and competitively with the club.

Older juniors, to gain match practice, are welcome to come down to mixed club social sessions and join in with mixed doubles with our adult members.

We have a junior team playing in the local league. There is a WhatsApp group for parents of juniors to coordinate some social tennis too. Please ask if you would like to join it.

Juniors under the age of 13 must always be supervised by a responsible adult over 18 years of age.

We know that fewer girls and young women take up and continue with tennis. In Spring/Summer 2026 the club will be focusing on this group with a range of activies specifically for them. Until then, based on their feedback, we are offering social drop-in sessions for different age groups three times a week. See these times listed above.

League match tennis

If you are interested to join please email sec@bamfordtennis.org.uk who will put you in touch with the captains.

Depending on the time of year we usually have ladies, mens and mixed teams playing in the Sheffield and District League.

New team players are always welcome, so please get in touch, even if you are not sure about your current level of tennis. You don’t have to commit to playing in every match; being available for just one or two can be a great help. 

We are keen to include as many players as we can so if you have never played in team matches this might give you an idea of what to expect.

• You need to be able to serve fairly consistently and make a few returns
• Matches are sometimes at Home, down at our club, and otherwise Away at our opponents' clubs, in and around Sheffield. Full list of the other clubs in the league here.
• The team comprises 2 mixed pairs and will play 2 rubbers, i.e. 2 sets against each opposing pair. The match will generally last about two to two and a half hours
• The home team provides tea and biscuits at the end of the match
• The match fees are £3 per player

Our aim is to play some fun competitive tennis and if we manage to win a few matches all the better!

Wednesday evenings 6-8pm is a drop-in practice session for team players.

Pickleball

You can now play pickleball at the club. Find out more about this new sport and how to play it here:
https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/bamfordtennis/Playing/Pickleball

The hitting wall

We've now got a hitting wall! Big thanks to Bamford Carnival committee who funded this.

It means that players can always come and have a hit even if there isn't anyone else around for you to play with.

Book court 1 if you want to use the hitting wall, and enjoy!

Using the floodlights

It is possible to play tennis in the evenings on Court 1 under the floodlights. The floodlights are turned on and off in the clubhouse. If you want to use the floodlights, please email the secretary for instructions of how to access the clubhouse and operate the lights. (It's simple!)

Looking after the courts, and each other

Be mindful of other players: We ask all of our members to please be considerate of people playing on the other courts at the same time as you. For example, wait until they have finished a game before you cross the court they are playing on to get to/leave your court, or to retrieve a stray ball.

Rubbish: There is no rubbish collection from the club, which is why there are no bins on the courts. Please take your rubbish home with you !!including the silver seals from the top of new tubes!!

Please raise and lower the net on your court before and after you play: this makes the nets last longer. There is a measuring stick on court to use - raise to 3ft in the centre. Exception, winter 2025/26: currently the winding mechanism for the Court 4 net is broken, so it has been fixed at the correct height. Please leave it as you find it for now. There’ll be a new net in Spring 2026.

Sweeping debris off the courts: not only does this make the bounces less random, but it’s better for the courts not to have debris trodden into them so, however brief, give them a sweep before playing if you see leaves, twigs, sycamore keys lying around. See it as part of your warmup!

And bicycles are not good for the courts, they damage their surface, so please only use our courts for tennis.