No room to volley: Here’s why all the public tennis courts on Hilton Head are full
Springtime on Hilton Head attracts all kinds of visitors, from raucous spring breakers to migratory shorebirds. One particular variety populates not the island’s beaches, but its other attractive feature: its tennis courts.
For years, college tennis teams have flocked to Hilton Head Island each March to play against each other on the island’s public and private courts, for a tournament called Spring Tennis Fest.
The island has ten public tennis courts: four at Cordillo Courts and six at Chaplin Community Park. But for the first two weeks of March, those courts have filled with visiting college tennis players rather than island residents.
That led Justin Wilson, a resident of Indigo Run since 2022, to complain on Nextdoor about the tournament’s complete use of the facilities, which he says has rendered them inaccessible to the public. Wilson said he frequents the public courts, but was surprised to find them completely full last week.
“Public facilities should first serve the residents that fund them,” Wilson wrote in the post, which attracted 109 commenters.
Some sided with Wilson, calling the situation “outrageous” and “unfair” for the taxpayers that fund the courts.
Others didn’t see the problem. “Been an event for years. Chill,” wrote one Andreas Kmiecik.
The island’s annual college tennis tournament was first hosted 40 years ago, originally under the name “Spring Break Tennis.” Over 40 teams came out to the first tournament back in 1986, the Island Packet reported.
The event is now run by the Professional Tennis Registry, a nonprofit organization that trains and certifies professional tennis instructors. As the island has grown, so has the event, which attracted 159 teams last year, according to PTR Vice President of Marketing and Special Events, Julie Jilly.
PTR reserves a combination of public and private courts for the three-week-long tournament. But this is the first year they’ve had to rely so heavily on the public courts, Jilly said.
In past years, PTR booked two private facilities run by the Van Der Meer Tennis Academy, which has about 15 hard courts at the two sites. However, Jilly said the company did not let PTR use their facilities this year.
“So more than ever we’ve relied this year on our public park facilities, which is unusual for us,” she said.
All public parks and recreation facilities on the island are managed by the Hilton Head Island Recreation Association, an independent nonprofit organization. The town grants the association the right to rent out the facilities at their own discretion.
It’s unclear as of yet how much PTR will pay in full for use of the island’s public courts. The fee is based on actual use of the courts, which are totaled up and billed at the end of the month. For the Cordillo courts, PTR will pay about $9 per hour, while use of the Chaplin courts is charged $150 per match.
Frank Soule, the association’s Executive Director, contends that the event boosts the local economy, bringing in revenue for hotels and restaurants.
Soule said he was “shocked” by Wilson’s comments, and that it was “first complaint we’ve had in years.” Soule added that the tennis community knows about the event far in advance, and that many private courts are available on the island.
Next week, island residents itching to swing their rackets might find some openings at the courts. According to Jilly, the third — and last — week of the tournament is less busy than the first two.
The event’s schedule, which includes the time and location of each match, is posted online. The last matches will take place on March 24, according to the schedule.
“It’s a shame that one person can get so upset about two weeks,” Jilly said.
This story is has been updated to remove the reference of how long PTR has been operating the tournament.
This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 12:58 PM.
