When you’re part of a team that won the World Barista Championship, you can pretty much do whatever you want. Ideas that would once have been considered outright crazy are now seen as inventive and boundary-breaking. Such is the case with Common Grounds Coffee Roastery in Indonesia, the long-time partner of 2024 WBC champion Mikael Jasin, who opened his newest café with its own tennis court.
This isn’t some pop-up or coffee stand opened inside or in partnership with an existing tennis facility. This is a real coffee shop with its own tennis court and it looks amazing.
The official public opening will take place on July 26 in the Menteng district of Jakarta. Menteng Tennis Club Common Grounds is a state-of-the-art coffee shop whose design draws inspiration from the “country clubs of Palm Springs, Southern California,” according to Instagram post. But it’s tough not to think of the café as something more Parisian. The opulent palette of umber and terracotta is reminiscent of the iconic red clay of Roland Garros, home to the year’s second major tournament, the French Open.
The court itself, which can be booked for two-hour blocks, complete with dedicated changing rooms, is more Arthur Ashe-esque, opting for an outdoor tough court instead of slippery — and muddy — clay. No lithe, bulky, topspin forehands required. (I would be remiss if I didn’t wonder aloud why Common Grounds calls its tennis court “Wimbledon-sized.” All Grand Slam courts are the same size, so using a grass court as a yardstick for an outdoor tough court that looks like clay is an odd choice.)
And when you’ve finished playing a few sets or just fancy a coffee, the indoor café offers a full coffee menu, which is based on La Marzocco KB90 as well as a full breakfast and dinner menu, including toast, pasta and many rice-based dishes.
This is one of the coolest and most original recent coffee shop concepts I’ve seen in a long time. It makes me want to pull an venerable Pro Staff and book a flight to Jakarta. Shanking forehands for a few hours in a foreign country sounds like a recent and stimulating way to smash a $200+ racket in desperation and total frustration. At least there’ll be coffee at the end.
