Next Friday, April 19, the San Francisco Recreation and Parks will unveil a new pilot online reservation system for tennis courts.

The pilot program will encompass 22 total courts, across 11 of the city's 68 public places to play tennis. It's currently expected to run through October, according to Rec & Park spokesperson Tamara Aparton, giving the city a chance to test the system before rolling it out more permanently or broadly.

Users will be able to reserve the courts for free, Aparton said. Prior to this program, the only courts available for reservations were at the Golden Gate Park Tennis Center, which will close next week for a 16- to 18-month renovation. 

The courts that players will be able to reserve in advance are scattered across the city, including John McLaren Park, the Alice Marble courts on Russian Hill, the Balboa Park courts, the Crocker courts, and the DuPont courts in the Richmond.

The J. P. Murphy courts in Forest Hill, the Joe DiMaggio courts in Washington Square, the Julius Kahn courts in the Presidio, the Moscone courts in the Marina, the Mountain Lake courts, and Parkside Square will also be available to book in advance. 

Aparton said enforcement of the reservation system would be entirely up to users, but she's optimistic that they'll be able to adjust accordingly. 

"We know from the 50,000 or so [annual] picnic spot reservations we take that people want to do the right thing and follow the rules," she said.