Bainbridge Leisure Services Department Tennis Director Tim Thompson talked about the history of Bainbridge tennis and the many tennis programs available to youth and adults during a Tuesday address to the Bainbridge Rotary Club.

“We originally had the river courts and the Potter Street courts, but neither had any lights,” he said.

“Later the Floyd complex, located behind Bainbridge Middle School and named for Carole Simpson Floyd, was built.”

Floyd and her husband, George, were praised by Rotarian Dr. Edward Mobley for building the strong tennis community in Bainbridge.

In continuing his comments, Thompson said that in 2005 the 14-court Bill Reynolds Tennis Center was built.

“You won’t find a lot of private clubs that have as nice a facility as we have at Bill Reynolds Tennis Center,” Thompson said. “Tennis is a sport that you can play for a lifetime. We have players as old as 85 and as young as 4 out there hitting balls.

“Our Bainbridge Tennis Association (BTA) adult programs include a free clinic for beginners and a cardio tennis aerobics routine where participants run around hitting tennis balls. For juniors we have team tennis and middle school tennis.”