No love for Winnipeg's dilapidated tennis courts

The state of public tennis courts in Winnipeg is preventing people from going into the sport, says Tennis Manitoba.

There are 140 public tennis courts in the city but only 24 are usable, said executive director Mark Arndt.

He said the playing surfaces are cracking and crumbling because the city isn't maintaining them, and that makes it especially hard on kids getting into the sport.

Earlier this summer, Arndt took a seven-year-old boy to play but the game didn't last long.

"We were into playing for about 15 minutes 20 minutes and … before you know it, he wiped out on some gravel and scraped up his arm and first thing was, 'K, I don't want to play anymore,'" he said.

Arndt said many of the courts were built in the 1980s, but few are maintained.

"It's a pity because really, you know, you see so many, so much potential with that many courts. But I'd rather see less courts but have them maintained properly," he said.

Some people in certain parts of the city have petitioned their city councillors to repair and maintain the courts, Arndt said.

A spokesperson for the city said there is a very limited budget for repairing and maintaing tennis courts.