Tennis Courts Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it. We’ve got a solid 16-day run ahead for the region, but the first week is a bit of a write-off for quality waves, so don’t rush to the water just yet.

The overall pattern is typical trade-wind stuff – strong ENE winds and messy, short-period ENE swell that’s onshore at our featured break. The water temp is sitting at 81°F, which is about average for this time of year, so nothing unusual there for Tennis Courts (the only game in town for this outlook). The combined swell energy is moderate for most of the first week, but the quality is poor due to the cross-off wind and short 7-second period.

For the first several days, from Sunday the 23rd through to around Saturday the 29th of August, it’s mostly a no-go. Winds are blowing 25–40 km/h (15–25 mph) from the ENE, cross-off, and the surf is either too messy or just flat. The 26th through 27th does see a switch to a long-period 17–18 second S swell, but the energy is moderate (around 600–876 combined energy) and the wind is still cross-off. It’s marginal at best, and that long-period groundswell on a reef setup like Tennis Courts could offer some cleaner lines, but the wind is the spoiler. You’d need a serious offshore to make that work, and we don’t get it.

The 29th to 31st of August is still dominated by that short-period, onshore ENE junk. Marginal at best. Don’t hold your breath.

Now, the standouts start to show in the second week, from September 1st onward. The energy really picks up. The combined swell energy jumps into the four-digit range – 1000 to 2400 – which is strong wave energy. By the morning of September 1st we see 7 ft of ENE swell at 9 seconds, with moderate wind at 35 km/h (22 mph), but still cross-off. It’s still not clean, but the size is there at 7 ft – for advanced surfers only at that size, as beginners will be pushed around.

The real standout window kicks off on the morning of September 5th and runs through the 7th. On the morning of the 5th, we get a 7 ft ENE swell pushing from the northeast with a period of 12 seconds. That’s a proper groundswell with long lines. Combined energy is 1449 – strong. Wind is NE at 25 km/h (16 mph), still cross-off. It's not glassy, but it's the best wind state of the whole run. The direction is ENE, which matches the optimum swell direction (SSE is given, but ENE is delivering the energy). This continues into Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, September 6th. Sunday morning sees the biggest wave of the forecast: 8 ft from the ENE at 12 seconds, with combined energy hitting 2400 – very strong wave energy. That’s expert territory. Sunday afternoon pushes up to 10 ft at 11 seconds, even bigger, but still cross-off.

Because the wind never truly goes offshore, and the break is a reef, the setup will be rippable for the advanced crew. The long period (12 seconds) means the waves will have good shape and power on the reef, but the cross-off wind will keep faces a bit bumpy. Still, for this region, September 5th through 7th is the best on offer. The size is pumping, the consistency is decent, and despite the wind, the swell quality is significantly better than the first week. September 7th Monday morning holds 7 ft at 9 seconds, still strong at 1261 combined energy – fade out but still fun.

Crowds at Tennis Courts are only *sometimes* an issue, so you might have it relatively uncrowded even with the size. But be warned: when it’s that big and the wind is cross-off, it could be more of a challenge than a classic session. For the purest surf, aim for the mornings of the 5th or 6th of September.

After that, the swell looks to drop off.

Rusty.

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