Ricardo Zurita Architecture & Planning (RZAPS) announces the completion of the Randall’s Island Tennis Center, a landmark public sports facility and home of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. At 260,000 square feet, it is the largest public tennis complex built in New York City in 50 years and a central element of the Randall’s Island Redevelopment Plan.
The design delivers 30 regulation hard and clay courts plus four specialized “red ball” training courts and a stadium exhibition court, creating a flexible environment that supports players of all ages and skill levels. Seasonal and permanent enclosures allow the courts to remain in use throughout the winter, ensuring year-round operation. Beyond the courts, the architecture organizes a wide range of support spaces including locker rooms, classrooms, conditioning facilities, viewing lounges, and club amenities around landscaped public plazas that extend the project into the park.
RZAPS’ design approach centers on openness, visibility, and civic presence. Long-span pre-engineered fieldhouses are paired with conventional steel framing to achieve expansive interiors filled with daylight and clear views to the courts. The large-scale building exteriors are animated with bold supergraphics that reference the playing of the sport and serve to lighten the scale of the large volumes while blending with Randall’s Island’s natural setting through blue and green cladding.
The project also embodies a commitment to resilient and sustainable design, incorporating advanced stormwater management, water reuse systems, and flood-mitigation strategies that set a new standard for waterfront recreational facilities in New York City.
For over two decades, RZAPS has shaped civic and cultural architecture across the city, with Randall’s Island as a continuing focus of its public design legacy. From the master plan that included more than 60 athletic fields, to Icahn Stadium, and now the Tennis Center, the firm has worked in close partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and the Randall’s Island Park Alliance to transform the island into one of the city’s premier recreational destinations.
“The Randall’s Island Tennis Center represents the core values of our practice: design that serves the public, elevates everyday experiences, and strengthens the city’s recreational infrastructure,” said Ricardo Zurita, Principal of RZAPS. “By positioning major sports facilities along the island’s edges, we preserved open landscapes while giving New York a new civic landmark.”
