When you’re part of a World Barista Championship-winning team, you can do pretty much whatever you want. Ideas that would once be considered certifiably wild-ass are now more properly received as innovative and boundary-pushing. Thus is the case with Common Grounds Coffee Roaster in Indonesia, the longtime partner of 2024 WBC champion Mikael Jasin, who have opened their latest cafe, with its own tennis court.
This isn’t some pop-up or cafe stand opened inside or in partnership with an already existing tennis facility. This is a bona fide cafe with its own tennis court, and it looks incredible.
Officially open to the public July 26th in the Menteng district of Jakarta, the Menteng Tennis Club by Common Grounds is a well-appointed new cafe that draws design inspiration from the “country clubs of Palm Springs in Southern California,” per an Instagram post. But it’s hard not to associate the cafe with something a bit more Parisian. The rich umber and terracotta color palette is reminiscent of the iconic red clay at Roland Garros, home of the year’s second major, the French Open.
The court itself, which can be booked in two hour chunks, along with the dedicated locker room facilities, is more Arthur Ashe though, opting instead for an outdoor hardcourt instead of the slippery—and messy—clay. No whippy, heavy topspin forehands required. (I’d be remiss to not wonder aloud why Common Grounds refers to their tennis court as “Wimbledon-sized.” All Grand Slam courts are the same size, so using the grass court as a measurement for you clay-looking outdoor hardcourt is an odd choice.)
And when you’re done playing a few sets, or you just want a coffee, the indoor cafe area offers a full-service coffee menu anchored by a La Marzocco KB90 as well as a full breakfast through dinner food menu featuring toasts, pastas, and a host of rice dishes.
It’s one of the coolest and most original new cafe concepts that I’ve seen in quite a while. Kinda makes me want to get the ole Pro Staff restrung and book a flight to Jakarta. Shanking forehands for a few hours in a different country sounds like a new and exciting way to smash a $200+ racquet in desperate and utter frustration. At least there will be coffee at the end of it.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
All media via Common Grounds
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Zac Cadwalader
August 21, 2024
