Athletes flock to Murrysville Racquet Club

The Murrysville Racquet Club isn't easy to find from William Penn Highway, but that doesn't mean it's been hard for the owners to bring in business.

Since it opened last week, about 40 or 50 athletes have started practicing on its courts.

“We've had a lot of interest from a lot of people,” said Shahbaz Hafeez, 35, of Murrysville, who runs the indoor tennis facility, which is in part of a warehouse at the end of a dead-end street near Duff Park. “I would send an email to people on my list and get responses from, like, five different people.”

The “soft opening” of the court last week was the culmination of a yearlong effort by Hafeez and his father, developer Arshad Hafeez, 61, of Murrysville.

Arshad Hafeez purchased the building more than two years ago as an investment. In 2013, the father and son began looking at the building as a possible location for the club.

“We thought it was going to be a simple project to do,” Shahbaz Hafeez said, “but every project has its challenges.”

Arshad Hafeez had to include certain elements in his plans — such as fake windows and concrete pillars on the exterior of the building's sheet metal sides — to comply with borough requirements before council signed off on the project in October 2014.

During construction, about 6,000 feet were added to the 53,000-square-foot warehouse, which is on Norbatrol Court. Additions included locker rooms, an office, a lobby and space for three tennis courts.

A fire-resistant wall divides the tennis courts from the portion of the building that is used by a tenant, an electronics manufacturer.

On Dec. 9, borough officials granted an occupancy permit.

In the course of the renovation, layers of asphalt and a polymer resin base were spread over the concrete as the surface of the courts. The floors are painted green and the courts purple with white lines — the theme colors of the Wimbledon championships.

“We said, ‘Let's try to set it apart from other facilities,' ” Shahbaz Hafeez said, adding that most indoor facilities use just one color. He said the contrast could help players better track the ball's trajectory in relation to the court.

“I really like the colors,” said Ananya Dua, 17, of Murrysville, a senior at Shady Side Academy in Fox Chapel.

Dua won her second state championship in September and recently signed to play at Cornell University in New York. She is among about 30 high-level junior players who followed Rashid Hassan, 40, of Monroeville to the club when he began coaching there.

Shahbaz Hafeez met Hassan about 15 years ago while working at the Oxford Athletic Club, a health and fitness complex in Monroeville. That facility has since changed ownership and now is called The Club Sport and Health.

Hassan is a former world-class junior and college player. He competed in the Davis Cup for Zimbabwe, but sidelined his ambitions for a career as a professional player when he injured his wrist while running through a sliding glass door.

He now makes a living as a coach.

Hassan said the Murrysville facility fills an important niche as a place to practice indoors that is accessible from the eastern reaches of the Pittsburgh area.

“This club being here is very important for the community. It fits right in between everything,” he said. “There are many different ways to get here.”

Gideon Bradshaw is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at 724-836-6660 or gbradshaw@tribweb.com.