If it wasn’t 60 degrees this week, a quarter of the way through December, I might not have included this post now, but I noticed that the court at Washington Market Park is now first-come-first-served, at least for the immediate future. And it seemed time to address what a lot of local players know already.

There is usually a daily saga around the sign-up sheet for the court. The rules require a permit from the Parks Department, but also a reservation for the court. The sign-up sheet is posted at the park house first thing in the morning for that day’s play, but I get regular complaints about the fraud going on.

People sign up their friends, a local player even offers it as a service, and there are instructors — both local and not — who hog up the court to give lessons, which is not permitted by the city without a permit and not permitted at all at this location. (Public spaces cannot be annexed for private business.) Then sometimes the sign-up sheet disappears, people’s names are crossed off, etc etc.

“It really has gotten out of control,” one player told me. “All these pros are making good money at the expense of the city and other players who want to use this PUBLIC court.”

(From the Parks Department press office: “We are aware of issues with tennis court use at Washington Market Park and are actively working to address.”)

I have had some suggestions come my way:

• online reservations
• first-come first served
• post a sign saying teaching pros are not permitted on the court
• require that permit numbers are checked against Parks Department records

Many other courts around the city have online reservations, but the catch there is oversight: our park is too small to be staffed, so it would be tough to regulate for instructors. Same goes with checking permits. During the pandemic, the court was first-come first-served, as are the three courts at Hudson River Park, but folks still complained that the pros had taken over.

Comment with other ideas…