Tennis Courts Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – the forecast for Tennis Courts is a bit of a mixed bag, and honestly, it's not looking like a classic run of days. The water temp is sitting right on the money for this time of year at 79°, so no surprises there.

We kick things off on Tuesday the 14th with a tiny 3ft swell from the SSW, but with a cross-offshore breeze and a moderate combined energy (274). It's a bit marginal, not really one to get excited about. Wednesday the 15th is much the same story – small 2ft swell, messy cross-shore winds, and the scores are barely registering. The pattern of small, clean but underpowered surf continues through Thursday the 16th and Friday the 17th, with the wind picking up into a fresh breeze. The swell drops even smaller, and the wave energy is weak, so you're really just looking at a lot of flat, clean ocean.

The weekend of the 19th and 20th sees a little lift, with a 5ft ENE swell showing up on Sunday morning, but it's short-period stuff at 8 seconds, and the wind is howling at 19 mph. The energy is ramping up (459), but it's not a pretty picture for a paddle. With those conditions, this setup starts looking more interesting for kite surfing than a traditional surf session.

Looking further ahead, there's a persistent, long-period groundswell from the SSW that starts filtering in around the 20th of July. We're talking periods of 16 to 24 seconds, which is proper long-period energy. The combined energy values are strong, often in the 500-800 range, hitting over 1100 on the 26th. Now, this is the standout event in the window. The swell size is small, mostly 2ft to 3ft, but that long period will wrap in and produce some clean, lined-up waves. The wind is consistently cross-off from the ENE, which is a major positive. This kind of swell is best suited to the reef, and the lack of size means it won't be too intimidating. For a few days around the 20th to the 23rd, this could be a really nice, clean window for the advanced crew. Keep in mind, with a long period like that, the sets will be well-spaced, making the paddle out a bit easier, but the waves themselves will have plenty of punch.

The best bet on offer is the period from Monday the 20th through to the morning of Wednesday the 22nd. The swell direction is perfect for the break, and with that glassy, cross-off wind, it's going to be as clean as it gets. The crowds are listed as "sometimes", so you might get a few others out there, but it's not going to be a zoo. Just be aware that while the swell is consistent in energy, the actual wave height is quite small, so this is an advanced-level finesse game, not a paddle battle.

Later in the week, there's a pulse of short-period ENE swell on the 25th and 28th, pushing 7ft and 5ft, but the period is a weak 7 seconds. That's going to be a lumpy, closed-out mess at the beach and not much better on the reef. Stick to the long-period SSW groundswell for the best shape.

So, to sum it up: the first week is mostly a washout. The real window is the long-period SSW groundswell from the 20th to the 23rd, and again maybe the 26th. It's a promising period, but with the long-range nature of it, keep an eye on the wind. As it stands, it's the only true standout in the 16-day run.

Rusty out.

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