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Return to the Hilton Head Island Guide > What a place to play! On Hilton Head - an island only 12 by 5 miles - there are over 360 tennis courts on all three Grand Slam surfaces. In that group, four tennis resorts have been acclaimed in Tennis magazine's top 50 U.S. clubs: Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center, Port Royal Racquet Club, Sea Pines Racquet Club and the Van der Meer Shipyard Racquet Club. In fact, the island proudly has more five-star tennis resorts than anywhere else in the country. It's understandable then that Tennis magazine went on to describe Hilton Head as "The perfect year-round tennis vacation!" Local racquet clubs staff highly qualified in-house professionals, providing daily or weekly clinics, semi-private and private lessons. A few free clinics are offered to the public on a space-availability basis throughout the year as well, particularly at Van der Meer Tennis Center where they provide "Guinea Pig" lessons gratis from pros-in-training. Some of the top instructors in the world and former champions who call Hilton Head Island 'home' include Stan Smith and Dennis Van der Meer. In fact, the Van der Meer Tennis University itself is located right here on Hilton Head, attracting more than 15,000 aspiring amateurs plus 500 pros from around the globe for instructor-training. "The Standard Method" for teaching, now recognized by the Association of Tennis Professionals' Tour, World Tennis Association Tour and others was created here by Dennis Van der Meer and Billie Jean King in 1972. The University's World Class Training Program attracts top players to hone their skills via the high-tech coaching instruction offered. Martina Navratilova and Gabriela Sabatini are frequent visitors to the center, numbering among other tennis greats. Each fall an annual tennis symposium is held on Hilton Head by the USPTR (United States Professional Tennis Registry) further emphasizing the Island as a top tennis destination. |
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