As a member of the Miami Beach Senior High School varsity tennis team, I am writing to advocate for the preservation of the newly constructed hard tennis courts at Bayshore Park and to keep them pickleball-line free.

In 2010, the City Commission renovated Flamingo Park Tennis Center and decided to keep all 17 clay courts clay.  This was done so with the understanding that at least five hard tennis courts would be built for Miami Beach Senior High in Bayshore Park, formerly the Par 3 golf course. 

It took over 15 years for the city to deliver on its promise to us. 

Before gaining access to the Bayshore Park courts in 2025, Miami Beach Senior High School’s tennis team was forced to practice and compete on only four hard courts at Normandy Shores.  This made practices difficult to get to and team matches extremely long. 

Bayshore Park’s tennis courts were designed as dedicated hard courts to serve tennis players of all ages and skill levels. Their clean court layout and aesthetic integrity should be preserved for their intended use.  Allowing pickleball lines to be added to these courts would undermine their intended purpose. Multi-use lining creates visual distractions for tennis players during match play and practice, diminishing performance and increasing the likelihood of errors during competitive play. 

This is not an opposition to pickleball as a sport. We recognize its growing popularity and support the development of additional dedicated pickleball courts throughout Miami Beach. However, incorporating pickleball lines directly onto the Bayshore Park tennis courts would reduce the availability and quality of hard court tennis infrastructure for students, teams, and residents alike.

While attending Nautilus Middle School, I personally witnessed our campus tennis courts reduced from four courts to three to construct a pickleball court. Similarly, the removal of the Miami Beach golf course tennis courts for pickleball development represents another loss of dedicated tennis space within our community.

We respectfully urge the City of Miami Beach to maintain the Bayshore Park tennis courts as pickleball-line free and to consider alternative locations for the expansion of pickleball facilities that do not compromise existing tennis infrastructure.

By signing this petition, you are supporting Miami Beach student athletes, local residents, and the preservation of dedicated tennis facilities within our community.