USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

Most New Yorkers know the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center as the home of the US Open — but it's also one of the most accessible places in the city for kids to pick up a racket. Tucked into Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, the facility is open to the public year-round for lessons and court time, well outside of the late-summer tournament window.

Junior programs run the gamut from group classes and private lessons to a full summer camp, welcoming kids as young as 3 all the way up to age 17. And once a year in August, the center hosts Arthur Ashe Kids' Day — a free event with tennis clinics and games that gives families a taste of the US Open atmosphere without the ticket price.

The facility itself is massive: 22 outdoor hard courts spread across 46.5 acres, plus 12 indoor courts at the Indoor Training Center for year-round play in any weather. Getting there is easy on the 7 train (exit at Mets–Willets Point), and the park setting means you can easily combine a tennis lesson with a walk around Flushing Meadows afterward.