After football, tennis is the second most popular participant sport in Berlin. The German Tennis Federation (www.dtb-tennis.de) is one of the few sports organisations in the country with more than a million members. Its popularity has grown in part thanks to the prominence of former German players such as Boris Becker, Steffi Graf, and current favourite, Tommy Haas.

Playing is not only for the upper crust; there is a wide availability of public tennis courts, both indoors and outdoors. Many sports centres and health clubs have courts. You can search for your local court, most of which are in decent condition, at Lades Sportbund Berlin (www.lsb-berlin.net). Non-members should expect to pay about €15 per hour. There is a wide variety of tennis tuition available in the city. The Tennis-Verband Berlin-Brandenburg (www.tvbb.de) is the umbrella organisation for the city’s 25 official teams. The Qatar Telecom German Open (www.german-open.org), more widely known as the German Ladies’ Open, is the big annual event for spectators in May.