Riverside Park Tennis Courts

The Riverside Park courts at West 119th Street are ten hard courts on the park's promenade level, tucked into the trees near the Bird Sanctuary above the Hudson. All ten were resurfaced and reopened in 2022, so they play clean and true. Despite the shared Riverside Park name, this is a different facility from the red clay at 96th Street: a hard surface, run directly by NYC Parks on the standard permit system rather than the clay courts' volunteer setup.

Each player needs an NYC Parks season permit (about $100 for adults, less for seniors and juniors) or a $15 single-play day pass. Two of the courts can be reserved online up to a week ahead. The rest are same-day first-come, with a gate attendant signing players in for the next open hour. The permit season runs from early April to the Sunday before Thanksgiving. In winter, when the gate is open and unstaffed, you can play with no permit at all.

Riverside Park has three separate places to play, and they are easy to mix up: these 119th Street hard courts, the 96th Street red clay courts, and the free 110th Street pickleball courts.

Use Doyouplay to see who plays the 119th Street courts, find players around Morningside Heights and the Upper West Side, and line up a match before you go.