Oak Park tennis players will have a fresh court to practice on after a resurfacing of the courts. The process began Oct. 13 and is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 30.

Athletic Director Tim Chevalier was involved in the decision-making process, along with Mr. Meskis and the Oak Park Unified School District, who funded the project.

“The tennis courts have not been resurfaced in 10 or 11 years and they need to be resurfaced around every decade for safety,” Chevalier said. “This is happening now because the company we use in the area is limited, and this is the availability that they have.”

The company Sport Court is performing the resurfacing, which includes filling cracks in the court, laying a new topcoat and painting.

“We’ve used [Sport Court] in the past and they’re a really good company,” Chevalier said.

Due to the construction aligning with the tennis season, there have been several scheduling conflicts with team practices.

“We will miss three to four practice days while they are under construction,” Tennis Head Coach Carl Joyce wrote to the Talon. “We had three matches this week and two more away next week, though, so the girls will still get plenty of match play.”

Varsity player and junior Lilly Fuller expressed her opinion on the relocation of practices.

“It’s a little annoying because we won’t be able to have team practice at school anymore and I can’t play there, but I’m hopeful that it looks good and it makes the courts a lot nicer,” Fuller said.

When the project is completed, Oak Park will have access to the newly renovated courts once again.

“They’re going to look really nice, they’re going to be safe and they’re going to be done —[it’s] a little expensive, but it’s necessary,” Chevalier said.