Promote and develop the growth of tennis in the Asheville area

Kids: Learn to Play

Registration for 2025 junior clinics is open!

〰️

Registration for 2025 junior clinics is open! 〰️

Which programming is best for your child?

  • ATA Junior clinics - Offering beginner, advanced beginner and intermediate levels of instruction for ages 5 to 15. Clinics run April - October with a max of 8:1 player:instructor ratio

  • Junior Try Tennis & Try Play - Run frequently at Aston Park after-school, targets ages 11 to 17.

  • Junior Team Tennis - Competitive, level-based environment for boys and girls, ages 11 to 18, to play singles and doubles against other co-ed teams in the greater Asheville area, usually on Sunday afternoons

ATA Junior clinics

Our clinic levels are described below, please consult these before booking your child for the best class fit. The level of instruction is based on previous tennis experience and their current skill level. Instructors reserve the right to move participants to other clinics to ensure optimal instruction for all participants. Instructors listed may be subject to change.

  • Beginners are players who are new to tennis or have very limited tennis experience. Beginner clinics will start with the basics: consistent contact with the ball, developing eye/hand coordination, basic tossing and catching skills, ball taps and bouncing, throwing skills, fun drills and games. Beginner use red or orange balls depending on age.

  • Advanced beginners are players who have successfully completed the Beginner clinic, and can consistently sustain a slow-pace short rally of 3-4 balls over the net with other players of similar ability. Advanced beginner clinics introduce basic tennis etiquette, court movement, tennis vocabulary, rules, serving and scoring with a progression of fun drills and games. Advanced beginners use orange/green balls depending on age.

  • Intermediate are players who have successfully completed the Advanced Beginner clinic; can consistently rally 5-6 medium-paced balls over the net with other players of similar ability and are proficient with keeping score. Intermediate clinics focus on tennis etiquette, shot variations, advanced serving techniques, and competitive play. Intermediate players use regular balls.

It is perfectly normal and expected to repeat the Beginner and Advanced Beginner clinics several times before advancing to the next level. Your child’s instructor will provide guidance and recommendations on this.

Aston Park Tennis Center 2025 Clinics

Out and About in Buncombe County 2025 Clinics

One-week Junior Beginner/Advanced Beginner clinics are being offered to 7-13 year olds. Siblings & friends can be dropped off and picked up at the same time! Two instructors will provide 1-1/2 hours of instruction 6:00-7:30pm on 2 evenings in the same week. Instructors listed may be subject to change.

Space is limited to 14 participants each week (7:1 instructor/player ratio) - sign up early!

 

New Middle School Summer Clinic

The ATA is offering a middle school clinic for 6-8th graders who currently play on their middle school team, or are thinking about giving it a try this fall. The 6 sessions will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays June 16th - July 3rd from 11am-noon at Aston Park.

This program will be capped at 12 players, so register early!

Please note: This is NOT a clinic for beginners. Players should be able to rally the ball across the net fairly consistently, serve, and keep score.

 

Cancellation / Refund Policy

You may cancel your own registration for a full refund up to 2 days in advance of the start date. Your payment card will be auto-credited when you do this from your confirmation email.

If you need to cancel after 2 days in advance of the start date, contact us with your issue for possible issuance of a discount code for future clinics.  Note that we must still pay the instructors for the slot taken so a full refund is not possible.

Each program has a rain makeup week scheduled following completion of the normal program. If more than 50% of the clinic dates are cancelled (including the make-up dates), participants will be issued a discount code for future clinics. 

Court Policy

Per ATA policy, no parents are allowed on the courts during instruction. However, parents are welcomed and encouraged to speak with instructor(s) before or after clinics.

To participate in ATA programs, participants must read and sign a waiver. This is built-in to registration when using USTA’s Serve Tennis, but for other programs where instructed by the program organizer, please use this Google form to sign the waiver. Thank you!

Programming FAQs

Questions about programming? Contact ataprogramsavl@gmail.com

Need a cancellation or refund? Refer to your confirmation email received at time of registration, see our Cancellation policy above.

Looking for a private tennis lesson? Refer to the ATA Instructors page for information. Some instructors offer private instruction and should be coordinated directly with them.

Something else? All other communications should be directed to your child’s instructor. A parent letter with clinic details and your instructor’s contact information will be emailed to you when you register your child for a program.

Junior Try Tennis®

Try Tennis® is an instructional program for beginners or those who have not picked up a racket! The program includes a pathway for juniors where each participant works with a tennis instructor to learn enough basic skills to play a beginner match.

Asheville area Junior Try Tennis® programs are frequently run throughout the year at Aston Park Tennis Center.

A free racquet is provided!

Upcoming 2025 Sessions

The ATA will be hosting a "TRY TENNIS" program for 11-17 year olds. The 6 sessions will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays June 17th - July 3rd from 11:00-noon at Aston Park. This program will be capped at 12 players, so register early!

Kids play free at Aston Park Tennis Center when it’s open April to November! You can check court availability and reserve a court at reservemycourt.com, register and select your default facility as ASTON PARK TENNIS CENTER.

 

Juniors: How to Compete

 
 

Junior Team Tennis

USTA Junior Team Tennis (JTT) brings together boys and girls, ages 11 to 18, to play singles and doubles against other co-ed teams in the greater Asheville area. Beyond being fun and a great form of exercise, JTT is a competitive, level-based environment that promotes individual growth, social growth and life skills.

Spring 2025 Details

Players will need to be comfortable serving and keeping score on their own. Parent volunteers may be available to help out some weekends depending on availability. For more information please contact Tom Burre or Brian Garvin

  • Aston Park Tennis Center

  • 2025 dates coming soon for April, May, September, October!

  • Sundays 2:00-4:30pm

 

Junior Tournaments

4th Annual WNC High School Invitational

May 16-18 2025 Aston Park

The ATA is excited to announce registration will open March 31 for the 4th annual WNC High School Invitational being held May 16-18 at Aston Park Tennis Center.

The event is FREE! The goal remains to provide a balance of low-pressure competition while also being a fun social event.

The tournament is limited to 40 girls and 40 boys in grades 9-12 who are currently on the roster of their high school team (private, public, and homeschooled). We encourage players to sign-up early! High School senior girls who played in the fall are also eligible!

Several important reminders:

  • We are capping each school to 6 registrations per male/female category.

  • A wait list has been created for those who sign-up after max # of registrations is achieved for their school.

  • Players will have the opportunity to sign-up for singles Friday & Saturday and/or “mix it up” doubles on Sunday.

  • If you register for singles, you MUST be available to play both Friday & Saturday.

  • Players will be notified on May 6th if they have been selected to play in the tournament. (IF for any reason your plans change, and you are no longer able to play, please email ashevillecta@gmail.com as soon as possible to let us know.

  • Registration will close at 5:00pm on Friday May 2.

Sponsors

 

Buncombe County Parks and Recreation

 
 
 
 
 

Use this button to search USTA Junior tournaments in 2025. Click Search after USTA page loads.

Terminettors Champions Junior Tennis Camp 2025

June 23-27, Ages 9-15

The Asheville Tennis Association, UNC Asheville Tennis, and the Aston Park Tennis Center will once again offer the Champions Junior Tennis Camp June 23-27, 9a-11:30a free of charge, to kids who might not otherwise be exposed to tennis. Additionally there will be 25 spots available for paid registration as well at $100 for the week. Campers will receive tennis instruction, racquet, t-shirt and daily lunch. Registration details to follow later in the spring!

What a fantastic collaboration between UNC Asheville, the ATA's Terminettor™ program, and the City of Asheville. The camp brought kids of all walks of life to Aston Park for instruction, drills, competitions, games.

Thanks to Buster Brown for launching us 4 years ago - and to Hometrust Bank and our many private donors for keeping us going. 50 kids wearing those cool Informsystem's t shirts!

CAMP DIRECTORS

Lise Gregory will start her 19th year as the UNC Asheville Head Women's Tennis Coach. She was 2023 and 2024 Big South Coach of the Year. She hails from South Africa, was an all-American player at the University of Miami, played on the pro circuit, and coached at Florida State University and Vanderbilt.

Matt Frost joined UNC Asheville in 2023 after two seasons as the head coach at Division II Tusculum University. Before that, Frost was the assistant women’s coach at the University of New Mexico. Prior to New Mexico, he was an assistant coach at Lenoir-Rhyne University and also the performance coach at the Great Britain Lawn Tennis Association. He was also previously involved on the professional circuit, both as a player and a hitting partner for players such as Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep.