As part of a 2006 US trip this Xmas I pre-arranged with Ivan Rolandson for Kim, Jessica and I to have some court time at Princes and what a pleasure it was. Finding the court for the first time would have been easier during daylight but wasn't too great a challenge. The court is co-located with numerous other racket courts and is tacked onto the end of several indoor (other) tennis courts. Though no natural light we found it well lit very welcoming. The view through the Perspex main wall was amazing and at our levels, when playing, not too much of a distraction!
We'd be told before hand to expect some variation in the main wall due to a missing panel! The cause was down to Ivan R. demonstrating how to main wall -> Dedans force. By design the ring holding the net butts up against the two adjacent panels. With a full force contact the shock must have gone through the ring into the edge of the panel causing it to shatter - would have been an awesome home video moment! I can only imagine the expression on Ivan's face and I bet there were a few expletives issued! On a positive note this failure appears to be due to inappropriate technical design rather than a panel issue.Our only minor disappointment was missing out on meeting any members as all were Xmas party'ing. Given a couple of extra days in town this wouldn't have been an issue :-)
We stayed locally (Tysons Corner - Hilton Gardens) and combined the court time with some awesome retail therapy and a self-drive site seeing tour around Washington (White House etc.). Tysons Corner is +/- 25 mins from Dulles Intl airport and about the same time away from George B's residence and right next to a monster mall! We rented a car and found the driving/navigation straight forward though Sat Nav would have been a bonus.
I'd highly recommend a visit!
Happy New Year!
