You read that right. A private club has effectively colonized public park tennis courts, telling taxpaying San Franciscans that they're the outsiders. On their own courts. Funded by their own dollars.

Look, we're not anti-club. People should organize, play tennis, have a great time. But when your club's operating model depends on monopolizing a public resource and gatekeeping access from the people who actually pay for it? That's not a club — that's a shakedown with a dress code.

This is the kind of small-scale governance failure that drives people crazy about San Francisco. The city can't manage its public spaces well enough to prevent private groups from essentially claiming them as their own, and then presumably can't — or won't — enforce the rules when residents complain. As one local put it online, it's like "their own personal country club." Another SF resident summed up the vibe perfectly: "I love intense but niche drama that has nothing to do with me." Fair enough — until it does have something to do with you, and you're the one standing outside a fence at a park your taxes maintain.

The broader principle here matters. Public infrastructure is public. Period. When the city allows private entities to functionally privatize shared resources — whether it's tennis courts, sidewalks, or parking — it erodes the social contract. You're paying for something you can't use.

San Francisco Rec & Park needs to step in with clear, enforceable rules about court access. No private club should have de facto priority over regular residents at a public facility. And if a club wants dedicated courts, they're welcome to lease private space — at market rate, naturally.

This city loves to talk about equity and access. Here's a layup. Or rather, a volley.