Calling all Badgers! Has the snow covered your cricket wicket? Have the frigid temperatures discouraged your batting? Never fear! Empire Racquet will soon offer a heated, indoor pitch on Capitol Hill.
Located on site of the long-departed Capitol Hill Tandoor and Grill at 419 Eighth St. SE, Empire Racquet will offer indoor space for playing cricket, tennis, pickleball and soccer to both kids and adults. Don’t let the wooden boards fool you!
Empire Racquet is the brainchild of 44-year old Brynley “Bryn” Bryant. Bryant was the scion of a family of professional athletes. His father played rugby, while his brother pursued soccer. Their next door neighbor had a tennis court. Bryant’s dad, who never played tennis, taught him how to hit the ball. Later, Bryant studied under a famous coach. Despite this, cricket remained his first love.
At age 14, Bryant was sent to study at a boarding school in Cape Town known internationally for its cricket programs. While Bryant never managed to step up to the wicket as a member of that institution’s A squad, he quickly became captain of its tennis team. This proved to be the first step in an international career of teaching the sport.
In 2003, Bryant arrived in the United States to apprentice for Cliff Drysdale, an internationally ranked South African tennis player in Miami. A year later, he moved to California to work for Jose Higueas, a world-renowned tennis coach. After four years, he moved on to teach on his own in Hong Kong and China.
In 2011, Bryant returned to the United States. He founded Sports for All in New York City. His nonprofit rented courts to teach the sport for the city schools. There, he started Manhattan’s first and only indoor cricket training center. In 2023, he and his wife moved with their five children to northern Virginia, her original home, to be closer to family.
The facility will feature an innovative ceiling and wall netting system, astroturf and floor mats that allow it to be configured for many different sports. The space can host a cricket batting cage, gymnastics, two pickleball courts or an indoor soccer field.
The front of the facility will function as a sports waiting room and a tennis pro shop. Bryn also plans to place 200 rental storage and 100 Amazon package lockers as well as PO boxes in the basement.
Bryant expects to open the new facility in the next 30 days –by the end of February 2025. Empire Racquet is located at 419 Eighth St. SE. Visit www.empireracquet.com for more details.
