Whether you’re a beginner, a rusty returner or an experienced player, you’ll be spoilt for choice. You can play all year round on our three artificial clay floodlit courts and enjoy the feel of Wimbledon on our eight grass courts from May to September.
Rye Lawn Tennis Club offers a social tennis environment with coaching, tournaments, club sessions, box leagues, and matches on both grass and artificial clay courts.
Club sessions take place each week and are a good way of meeting other members. The purpose of these sessions is to provide a forum where players of all standards can turn up and play some tennis without pre-arranging their games. The weekly schedule is:
Thursday Experienced Players Session 17:00-19:00 - Bob Thomson (07771 741010). Please confirm with Mark Edwards that this session is suitable.
Sunday Club Sessions 9.30 - 11.00 : For those interested in a more competitive doubles game (intermediate and above), there are sessions on the clay at 9.30am. If you are unsure whether these earlier sessions are suitable for your level of play, please contact Mark Edwards for guidance. 11.00-12.30 : Club morning and open to all players. Sign up is via a weekly poll that is on the Club Tennis WhatsApp group, speak to Mark Edwards (07760 297370) to be added to the group.
Our LTA-rated singles tennis box leagues are open to men and women aged 17 and over. These leagues are a fantastic way to compete and improve your game. Plus, your results will count towards your new ITF World Tennis Number!
We also offer box leagues for juniors, providing a supportive environment for young talent to develop their skills.
Click through to our events page to find the latest box leagues running at the club.
The club competes in the Ladies Sussex County League, managed by Julie Shelley-Barnes (jshelleybarnes@gmail.com), and the Mixed Wealden League, managed by Karen Spencer (karen@karenwilks.co.uk). Matches are also arranged against other clubs, including the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Queen’s, Walmer and Rye Golf Club.
The club is well known for its Annual Invitation Tournament, which has a long and distinguished history and attracts top players from clubs across the UK and Europe, with entrants from Harvard and Yale universities taking part in some years.
The tournament remains one of the highlights of the club’s calendar, with players competing on Rye’s outstanding grass courts over four days of tennis.
The 2026 Annual Invitation Tournament took place from Friday 31st July to Monday 3rd August. For a full report and results, see Annual Tennis Tournament 2026 under Latest News.
It is only by investing significant time, money and effort in this renovation process that we can maintain the exceptional quality of the courts that we all enjoy during the summer months. As our President Chris Gorringe said this year – “they are some of the finest grass courts in the country”.
For many of you, this process takes place over just a few days, without you being aware of what is involved. So we’ve made a film that explains what is involved in the process.
Guests are welcome to play at the Club up to four times a year in total, whether playing with or without a member. This includes participation in any coaching sessions.
Guest fees must be paid before going on court. You can pay your fees here. Or you will find a QR code on the door/gate into the court where you are playing that takes you to the same payment page.
For Tennis (with a member): £10 per adult and £5 per child (90 mins)
For Tennis (without a member): £36.00 per court (90 mins)
For more guest information please visit our dedicated page.
It is a strict rule of Rye LTC that members and their guests wear predominantly white clothing and proper tennis shoes when using the grass tennis courts. An hour’s play wearing the wrong shoes can ruin a grass court for the whole season.
The club has an online booking system for the tennis, padel and squash courts at ClubSpark. You will be given login access to this on membership. You may book up to 14 days in advance.
As junior tennis members benefit from very low subscription rates, adult members have priority use of the grass tennis courts if no other courts are available, apart from specified times such as junior tournaments, junior matches, coaching sessions etc.
A stock of sports clothing and club ties is maintained in the clubhouse.
