Visit Benton Park on a random Sunday, and you may hear some unfamiliar sounds to the area: the thwop of a tennis ball connecting with a racket and the squeak of sneakers sliding across courts. In just a few short months, tennis clinics organized by the People’s Art and Recreation Center (PARC) have brought people out in droves to play, learn the sport, and connect with others in their community.
“The neighborhood is very much involved; we have people walking out their front door, passing through, asking what’s going on here,” PARC owner and operator Christopher Loss says. “No one expected it. This is a very underutilized park, and has been for years. I’ve been on the south side for 13-plus years, and I’ve never seen consistent use of this tennis court.”
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That changed this summer, when Loss and Natalie Johnson, an associate creative director at Caleres and avid tennis player, dreamed up the idea to host tennis lessons on the courts at 3122-3180 S. Jefferson. They partnered with Breakpoint Tennis & Life Skills Academy, which offers free and low-cost instruction throughout the metro area, to serve the community (pun intended).
“Our core missions align with the overarching understanding that tennis programming should be accessible to everyone in each community with no or limited barriers to entry,” Breakpoint cofounder Paul Paige says. “Tennis is unique in this, as there are courts everywhere in the city, and they do not get the proper use due to a lack of programming options. This is the start of something larger to help make this change.”
Launched in the summer 2025, the tennis clinics—dubbed “Sunday Serve Us”—are held every second Sunday and have averaged around 30 to 50 people per session. Free and low-cost instruction is split up by age and experience, followed by open play for anyone interested. The concept is pretty simple: get people out and connecting with others in their community by using the previously empty courts, even if they don’t have the necessary equipment.
“A lot of the time, people say they’re interested in playing, but they don’t have balls or a racket,” Johnson says. “It was important for us to have spare rackets for adults and kids available so that if anyone wanted to show up, or even if they walked by, they could grab one and we could teach them.”
The approach is working. In addition to hobbyists and regular players, Loss says that kids from the neighborhood will see the activity and watch a few matches before stepping onto the court themselves, despite sometimes wearing jeans and Crocs (because they weren’t really expecting to play). They’ll grab a drink, stick around for a while, then leave as soon as their bus arrives, or they need to get home. And that’s OK, Loss explains.
“We see it like a day to serve our community in a multitude of ways,” he says. “Be a community member; be a neighborhood. Get a bite to eat; drink some water. It’s been an honor to serve the community we have. It’s almost like the test pilot; it’s community roots that are building this up.”
Eventually, Loss and Johnson want to bring the clinics to other parts of the city and launch organized efforts throughout each region. The only element holding them back right now is the need for more instructors. Still, both Loss and Johnson see this as the start of something much greater.
“It’s not just going to be tennis,” Loss says. “I foresee kickball leagues, basketball tournaments. People want that local competition back, so we’re looking forward to having some fun and coordinating some things for St. Louis and the neighborhoods.”
