From One Girl to a Thriving Tennis Community: The Story Behind Florida Tennis Partners
Jul 17, 2026
What started as one player’s search for reliable hitting partners has grown into a thriving tennis community across South Florida. Florida Tennis Partners began as a simple Facebook group in Fort Lauderdale and has since expanded into a growing network of players, meetups and opportunities designed to make tennis more accessible, organized and connected across the state.
Florida Tennis sat down with Florida Tennis Partners founder Laura Herrera to learn more. Herrera has a strong tennis background: she won a Florida high school state championship and went on to play college tennis at Notre Dame College, where she was named Second Team All-MEC after spending much of the season in the team’s top singles slot. She opened up about her experience launching a tennis community in the Sunshine State.
Q: What inspired you to create Florida Tennis Partners?
A: I simply wanted reliable people to play tennis with. At first, there was no intention of building a tennis community — I just wanted to create a group so I could play more often. I loved the sport and wanted to keep it part of my lifestyle, while many former players had moved on to pickleball, padel, or stopped playing after college. As more people started joining from outside my local area, I realized I wasn't the only one looking for a better way to stay connected through tennis.
Above: Florida Tennis Partners Founder, Laura Herrera. Photo credit: Florida Tennis Partners
Q: How did Florida Tennis Partners begin?
A: In 2023, I created the Fort Lauderdale Tennis Partners Facebook group to help local players connect. I didn't pay much attention to it for about a year, but by December 2024, it had grown to around 400 members and people were actively posting, introducing themselves and looking for hitting partners. Instead of everyone searching individually, I thought, "Why not bring everyone together at once?" I started organizing monthly meetups at a local park, which eventually became weekly. What began as a simple idea quickly grew into something much bigger and showed me we were filling a need that wasn't being met in the tennis community.
Q: When did you realize there was a bigger need for this type of community?
A: I first realized there was a bigger need when our weekly sessions started drawing around 15 players, including people driving from cities like Boynton Beach and Doral. They weren't just coming for tennis — they were coming because they knew they'd find quality players and an organized group. More recently, I posted about an open play in an Orlando tennis Facebook group and received more than 100 comments from people wanting to join. That confirmed the demand extends well beyond South Florida.
Q: What was that first meetup like?
A: The first meetup was small — only one person showed up. But I kept organizing the sessions because I believed there were more people looking for an easier way to play. The next meetup brought four players, then six, and eventually dozens. That consistency is what helped build the community.
Above: Florida Tennis Partners meet-up. Photo credit: Florida Tennis Partners
Q: What has been the most rewarding part of growing this community?
A: The most rewarding part has been watching people connect. Players arrive not knowing anyone and leave with new friends, regular hitting partners, and a reason to keep coming back. Florida Tennis Partners has become about more than just tennis — it's become a community where people feel welcome, included and connected through a shared love of the sport.
Q: How has Florida Tennis Partners grown since those early days?
A: From January 2025 to July 2026, Florida Tennis Partners grew from around 400 members to more than 1,400. What started in Fort Lauderdale has expanded into Hollywood and Miami, with plans to continue growing into other cities across Florida. As demand continues to grow, so does our commitment to creating more opportunities for people to play.
Q: What makes Florida Tennis Partners unique?
A: What sets Florida Tennis Partners apart is our consistency, the quality of our community, our intentional organization of groups by skill level, regularly meeting at public parks, and our vision of building a connected tennis community across the entire state of Florida. Organizing players by skill level takes significantly more work, but it's essential to helping people find the right hitting partners and level of competition. That combination is surprisingly rare.
Above: Having fun with Florida Tennis Partners. Photo credit: Florida Tennis Partners
Q: What is the mission behind Florida Tennis Partners?
A: Our mission is to make tennis more accessible by creating consistent opportunities for players to connect while bringing together players, coaches, and clubs to strengthen Florida's tennis community. We want everyone to have a reliable place to play, improve their game and build lasting relationships through tennis.
Q: What is your vision for the future of Florida Tennis Partners?
A: I hope Florida Tennis Partners continues expanding throughout Florida so that no matter where someone lives, they have a welcoming tennis community they can count on. At the end of the day, my vision is simple: everyone should have someone they can rely on when they want to play tennis.
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Source: Florida Tennis Partners
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