Originally appeared in Jerusalem Post in www.jpost.com, February 13, 2026
Jerusalem’s new indoor tennis courts are packed even on rainy days, offering a rare all-weather haven for young players and community programs.
There was no better time to check out the new indoor tennis courts at Jerusalem’s Tennis and Education Center than on a rainy Wednesday afternoon.
The 14 wet outdoor courts and the padel court didn’t look very happy on this rainy day. In contrast, the indoor courts were bustling with happy children who were doing drills and playing games with their coaches.
I would have never even known about this gym had a fellow passenger in the elevator of a Jerusalem hotel, who thought I looked like his tennis coach, not mentioned it to me!
I ventured to the somewhat hard-to-get-to tennis center on that rainy day right after the school day ended, when the buses were painfully slow.
I hadn’t been back to the Jerusalem Tennis Center in the Katamon Tet neighborhood – founded in 1981 – since I spent a year of college here in 1986-1987.
What a difference 40 years makes!
The Jerusalem center is located near many buildings and complexes, such as Teddy Stadium, the Arena, and the Malha Mall, which did not exist in the mid-1980s.
To get to the new Stuart Weitzman Tennis Complex from the bus stop near Malha, I had to walk around and through the massive light rail station construction site – very much a work in progress.
When I finally found my way in, through a side entrance, what I discovered was very impressive: 18 illuminated tennis courts, a 2,000-seat stadium, a spectator gallery, a multi-purpose room, a fitness room, a practice wall, dressing rooms, offices, a sporting goods store, and a snack bar.
Beautiful gardens and plaques paying tribute to the many donors who made this fabulous complex possible were also very visible.
The four new courts at the Stuart Weitzman Tennis Complex bring the total number of indoor courts in the country to under 10. Indoor courts (like clay courts) in Israel are, simply stated, not a thing.
However, given the country’s extreme summer heat and the occasional winter rain, indoor courts make sense.
According to Dani Mizrahi, who has been manager of the tennis center for two years, indoor courts in Israel exist only in Haifa and Kiryat Shmona. In contrast to the courts in the complex, he said, “Those are under a balloon!”
Mizrahi is pleased that these courts are not fully enclosed (they have slatted facades), so they provide ventilation. However, by not being fully enclosed, they let rain come in, to which Mizrahi offered, “We are working on solutions.
Sports facility is multipurpose
The two-story sports facility features six tennis courts on the upper level, four of which are covered. The ground floor is dedicated to other sports and provides various spaces such as a gym, four squash courts, judo facilities, and sports accommodations.
It also houses a wide range of supporting amenities, such as sports clinics and multipurpose spaces for athletes.
In addition to tennis, and very much in line with the mission of ITEC – the Israel Tennis and Education Centers, which are located in 25 centers and satellite locations throughout Israel – the Jerusalem center operates programs for children at risk, those with developmental disabilities, and Ethiopian immigrants from local absorption centers.
It also offers the Living Together Program, a national effort to bring Arab and Jewish children together through the medium of sports and informal education. And the center operates the Twinned Kindergarten Program that brings together classes of Arab and Jewish children aged four to six years and their teachers to participate in weekly motor skill development games and activities.
1 Avraham Elmali’akh St.
Tel: (02) 679-1866
Open 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sunday through Thursday
Fridays 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed Saturdays