The Only Grass Courts in the Sonoran Desert
Four grass tennis courts. In Arizona. Desert Highlands maintains them, and that fact alone tells you what kind of racquet community this is. Pair the grass with six Har-Tru clay and three hard courts, and the Desert Highlands Racquet Club becomes the most balanced surface mix at any club in the state.
The USTA Southwest Grass Court Classic, billed locally as the Wimbledon of the Southwest, runs at Desert Highlands each year and draws the strongest grass-court field in the region.
Courts and Surfaces
Thirteen courts in total. Four grass, six Har-Tru green clay, three hard. The grass courts are the headline, but the Har-Tru complex is what members use most often because clay extends the season for older knees and softens the desert heat.
Membership at Desert Highlands is equity and required. There is no day-pass path to the racquet club.
Programs and Play
The Southwest Grass Court Classic is the showcase event. Member play fills the rest of the calendar: USTA league teams, round-robins, weekly clinics by skill level, junior academy programming, and a steady cadence of member tournaments and mixers.
The Desert Highlands teaching staff is one of the most credentialed in the state, and the club is a USPTA-affiliated training ground for several area juniors.
The Community Around the Tennis
Desert Highlands occupies 850 acres at the base of Pinnacle Peak in north Scottsdale. The community is gated and quiet by design. Homes range from estate lots backing the Jack Nicklaus signature golf course to lower-density custom builds inside the perimeter. I can show you which streets sit walking distance to the racquet club versus which require a short cart ride.