A tennis player has described Singapore as “one of the worst places” to play the sport, citing the difficulty of booking public courts during peak hours.
In a TikTok post on 14 July, user @sgphysiobarn expressed frustration over what he called the “hardest thing in the world”: booking a public tennis court in Singapore.
He said that while Singapore has “fantastic weather” and well-maintained public facilities, securing a court can be a major challenge for players who do not live in condominiums with private courts.
The original poster (OP) said he tried to book a court at the Kallang Tennis Hub on Monday (13 July), but only managed to secure a 3pm slot.
He described the timing as “almost unplayable” because of the intense afternoon heat.
However, after completing his session, he claimed that he saw several empty courts even though the booking system had indicated that they were fully reserved.
Source: @sgphysiobarn on TikTok
According to the OP, he subsequently learnt that some of the unused courts had been block-booked by the Singapore Tennis Association (STA).
He alleged that several courts had been reserved between 4pm and 7pm over multiple days, but were not being used.
The OP also claimed that staff at the Kallang Tennis Hub declined to disclose which days the bookings had been made.
Source: @sgphysiobarn on TikTok
Questioning the arrangement, he argued that courts which are no longer required should be released for public booking.
He also felt that the Kallang Tennis Hub should introduce or enforce measures to discourage unused reservations.
In the caption of his post, the OP added that many tennis coaches struggle to accommodate students because of the limited availability of courts.
He urged fellow players to raise their concerns with both STA and the Kallang Tennis Hub.
Several commenters agreed that securing a court at the Kallang Tennis Hub was difficult.
One netizen described the facility as “notoriously difficult to book”, while another said they had previously emailed the relevant parties to complain about the issue.
Source: TikTok
Source: TikTok
A TikTok user also suggested introducing penalties for players or organisations that fail to turn up for their bookings.
Source: TikTok
Speaking to MS News, the OP identified himself as Leslie Ng, a sports physiotherapist and health and fitness content creator in his 40s.
Mr Ng said the online booking system allows users to reserve courts seven days in advance.
“Needless to say, it’s almost always fully booked from 4pm to 7pm,” he said.
Source: @sgphysiobarn on TikTok
He added that he often arrives early for his sessions and has repeatedly observed empty courts.
On the day featured in his TikTok post, he claimed that the entire complex, including every court, was unoccupied.
“The 4pm to 10pm period is considered peak hours and is almost impossible to book,” Mr Ng said, adding that organisations such as STA frequently make advance block bookings.
According to Mr Ng, staff at the venue had informed him that the courts had been reserved by STA.
He said this was also widely known among regular players and tennis coaches.
“It’s a long-standing problem,” he said. “We just want them to release the courts to the public if they know they’re not going to be used.”
In response to MS News’ queries, STA, together with Sport Singapore (SportSG) and The Kallang Group, said they were aware of the concerns and feedback raised by members of the tennis community.
“We have reviewed the matter and are implementing measures to optimise the availability of tennis facilities for public booking,” the organisations said in a joint statement.
As a first step, STA will consolidate all national squad training at the Kallang Tennis Hub, while training schedules will be streamlined to make more courts available to the public.
The organisations said these measures would “progressively free up more courts” at the Kallang Tennis Hub and ActiveSG facilities, including Heartbeat @ Bedok and Yio Chu Kang Sport Centre.
Source: Google Maps
They added that some courts had already been released for public booking with immediate effect.
Members of the public can book the courts through MyActiveSG+ or The Kallang website.
“SportSG, STA, and The Kallang Group will continue to work closely to monitor court usage and remain committed to ensuring that Singaporeans have access to sporting facilities for both recreational and competitive use,” the statement concluded.
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Featured image adapted from @sgphysiobarn on TikTok and Google Maps.