Condos surround some of the courts at John Newcombe Tennis Ranch in Texas. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

I’m pretty sure I’ll always have something to learn as long as I play tennis.

Considering the pros are always tweaking their games, doing something new, trying this, trying that, why would I ever think there isn’t remove for improvement in my game?

Since spring 2015 I’ve been going to a tennis camp each year with at least one friend. (We skipped last year because we all had too many obligations.)

In April five us, all with Tahoe connections, flew into Austin, Texas, for a few days of tennis at the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch, which is in New Braunfels. The town is in Hill Country between Austin and San Antonio. It was a first for all of us.

Newks, as it is known to those who know, has been around since 1968.

Newcombe, who is still alive, was born May 23, 1944, in Australia. That’s still his home. One of his instructors at the camp said he comes to Texas twice a year.

Newcombe won 25 titles in his career, including Australian Open singles, 1973, 1975; Wimbledon singles, 1967, 1970, 1971; U.S. Open singles, 1967, 1973; Australian Open doubles, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1976; French Open doubles, 1967, 1969, 1973; Wimbledon doubles, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974; U.S. Open doubles, 1967, 1971, 1973; U.S. Open mixed, 1964.

Today, the ranch is many things. It’s open to adult tennis instruction (groups or singles) like what we got, as well as people putting together their own program, along with a robust teen camp where the youths live onsite with the goal of getting into a Division 1 college.

I loved all the tennis. We had 5½ instructions each of the first two days, and almost 3 on the last morning.

At past camps we’ve arranged/been to, we primarily had only had one instructor. I so enjoyed being around several pros at Newks. The ratio of students to instructors at times was 3:1—that was wonderful. Plus, we had other people playing with us at times, which changed up the dynamics in a good way.

Memorabilia from John Newcombe’s playing days is on some of the walls. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Newks has its program dialed in. I would go back, as well as recommend it.

For the five of us, we were able to stay in one condo. Rustic is the best description. Don’t think resort. It worked for our needs. We were there for the tennis—and that’s what Newks excels at.

I was a bit disappointed the pool wasn’t heated and was full of debris, making it only good for dangling one’s legs. The hot tub we were told by another camper was probably to be avoided. Not sure the reason, but we took her advice.

All of our meals (three a day), lodging and the tennis were included for about $800/person.

It’s possible to design your own camp, with one couple there for multiple weeks.

The food was serviceable once they figured out a vegetarian needed some protein beyond the meat being provided. All meals were served buffet style, so people could eat as much as they wanted.

The bar—which was a separate bill—seemed to do a pretty good business.

Staying onsite meant not having to drive anywhere. In fact, our condo overlooked the courts where we played most days.

The first session was indoors—more like an open-sided barn—because it had been raining. The ranch has 31 hard courts, with four of them indoors. Another four outdoor courts are clay. We entertained people one night under the lights on the clay. Tennis shouldn’t always be serious; we made sure of that.