Sands Point home, with tennis court, for sale

Tennis pros privately tuned up for U.S. Opens of yesteryear at this Sands Point Colonial listed for $2.998 million — the court at the five-bedroom, 5-1/2-bath home was used for practice by players such as two-time Open winner Tracy Austin, the owner says.

An adjacent tennis house with his-and-hers changing rooms and showers is also used to store a tractor and other tennis equipment.

“It’s really sedate — a great, quiet place to play,” current owner Gary Hitzig says.

He bought the home from Thomas Flynn, the first administrator of the Municipal Assistance Corporation, which oversaw New York City’s books during its mid-1970s fiscal crisis. In college, Flynn was a champion tennis and squash player, and his interest never waned.

Built around 1933 by an owner predating Flynn as an “exact copy” of an 1780 manor house, Hitzig says the 3,829-square-foot home features a striking arch structure and wood floors that are more than two centuries old. Restoration efforts were mindful of that legacy.

“The home has such character and integrity and such a history,” his wife, Sue, says.

An eat-in kitchen on the first floor features propane stoves. The main level also includes the dining and living rooms, two offices, two family rooms and one and a half bathrooms.

The master bedroom suite, along with three additional bedrooms and two full bathrooms, are on the second floor. There is a third-floor guest suite, as well as room for a sixth bedroom. The home also has in-ground sprinklers and a generator, as well as five wood-burning fireplaces and beach rights.

The basement includes a children’s playroom and an exercise room with a hot tub.

The 2.25-acre parcel features exotic plantings sourced during a previous owner’s world travels, Gary says, as well as a koi pond. He adds that an in-ground heated pool includes a diving board from the 1936 Munich Olympics and was built from the planks of a ship, with converted deck ladders serving as pool ladders. The pool also has a cabana.

“It’s going to be hard to give it up,” Sue says. “It’s a beautiful, historic home.”

The home is listed with Maggie Keats and Patricia Pascullo of Douglas Elliman Real Estate.