Squash Court Near Me in FiDi: Open Squash on Pearl Street

Open Squash FiDi occupies the entire 14th floor of 100 Pearl Street, where eight international singles courts, seven glass-backed plus one full glass show court, stay open from 6am to 10:30pm on weekdays and 8am to 8pm on weekends. If your search for a squash court near me starts below Chambers Street, this nonprofit club is the place that will actually rent you a court without a membership, as long as you play outside peak hours.

Beyond the courts, the floor holds a lounge with a workspace, a stringing station, a fitness area, locker rooms and showers, and the club advertises rooftop access for players. It is a working club rather than a spa, so do not expect towels or a juice bar. The courts themselves are built to the international standard, so the ball behaves the way it would at a tournament, which matters if you learned on a soft, bouncy court at a gym.

The show court is the one with glass on every side, and it is where the club stages exhibitions and team matches. Open Squash fields the New York Queens in the National Squash League, and the 2026/27 season brings home fixtures to this floor, so on certain winter evenings that court becomes a small arena with spectators along the glass. Book one of the seven glass-back courts on those nights instead.

Open Squash is a 501(c)(3) built around the idea that squash should not require a private club or a school connection. Founder and board chair David Ellen signed a lease for the whole 14th floor in May 2022, and the club held its grand opening in January 2024, with world champion Ali Farag playing an exhibition on the new glass. The Bryant Park site in Midtown came first, and a third location in Williamsburg is planned for 2027.

The nonprofit model shows up in the numbers: more than 20 percent of members receive an income-based discount on dues, and the club posts that figure openly. The same spirit explains why the club funds a full Junior Academy on this floor, from first-time five-year-olds to tournament players coached for US Squash events.

The FAQ is direct: Open Squash is not a private club, and non-members can rent a court for 45 minutes outside peak hours, up to twice a month. Peak runs 7:30 to 8:15am, noon to 1:30pm and 5:15 to 7:30pm on weekdays. Those three windows are exactly when Wall Street workers want to play, so a visitor hoping for a 6pm game will be shut out. Aim for 9am, mid-afternoon or any weekend slot.

Members pay a $10 court fee off-peak and $25 at peak on the Pay to Play plan, split between the players. A member can also bring a guest for a guest fee, which is the easiest way to play during prime time if you know someone with an account. Booking happens on the FiDi booking site or at the front desk, and walk-ins can ask staff what is open that hour.

The cheapest entry is the free intro clinic, unlocked with the code START4FREE at either location. Sessions last 45 minutes and fill quickly; the Monday 9am Intro to Squash was already full when we looked at the October schedule. After that, the FiDi-only two-week trial costs $79 and includes unlimited court time plus three clinics, which is a far better value than paying per visit if you are deciding whether to stick with the sport.

Clinics are sorted by rating band: Beginner below 2.49, Progression from 2.5 to 3.49, Intermediate from 3.5 to 4.49 and Advanced from 4.5 to 5.49. The standouts are the Wednesday 6:15pm Queen of the Court clinic for women in the Progression band and the Friday 7pm Evening Round Robin, a 75-minute social session with a dozen spots that mixes partners every few games.

Plans are priced per home facility. Off-Peak costs $149 a month on a 12-month plan or $169 month to month, Pay to Play is $199 or $229, and Unlimited is $299 or $339 with no court fees at any hour. Adding Passport for $50 a month lets you book at both Open Squash locations, handy if you work downtown and live near Midtown. Lockers rent for $25 to $35 a month.

Our honest take: skip Unlimited unless you can reliably play during the noon or after-work peaks three times a week. Most new players who mostly book mornings or weekends do fine on Off-Peak, and the $10 court fee disappears into the cost of a coffee on Stone Street afterward.

The club lends racquets and goggles at no charge, so the only thing you must bring is a pair of non-marking court shoes; running shoes with black soles will get you turned around at the desk. Goggles are worth wearing even in a casual hit, because a squash ball moves fast in a court this size. A stringing service on site can restring your own frame between sessions.

The weekly calendar shows who the floor is built for: a 7:30pm Advanced clinic for players rated 4.5 and up on Wednesdays, several Beginner sessions every weekday, and Junior Academy groups for ages five to eighteen, whose schedule sits on a separate page. Weekend clinics run late morning and early afternoon, so a 4pm Saturday booking tends to find the glass quieter.

The neighborhood rewards a post-game stroll. Stone Street, the cobbled block of taverns behind Pearl, is two minutes away and fills with outdoor tables when the weather allows. Fraunces Tavern at 54 Pearl Street, where George Washington bid farewell to his officers in 1783, has a museum upstairs and a dining room below. Walk south and you reach Battery Park and the Staten Island Ferry terminal, free to ride for a harbor view.

If FiDi has no off-peak slot left on the day you want, Open Squash Bryant Park at 25 West 39th Street runs the same model on five glass-back courts, and the Harlem Squash Club on West 115th Street rents courts to the public at a flat rate. Both are an easy subway ride from Pearl Street.

Address: 100 Pearl Street, 14th floor, New York, NY 10004. Hours: weekdays 6am to 10:30pm, weekends 8am to 8pm. Subway: Whitehall Street on the R and W, South Ferry on the 1, Bowling Green on the 4 and 5, or Broad Street on the J and Z. Bring non-marking shoes; racquets and goggles are lent free, and financial aid applications are on the club website.