Tennis Re-Opens on Long Island

As we conclude the 2020 summer, the Long Island tennis community is beginning to return to a sense of normalcy as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a difficult few months for everyone in the industry, from local tennis professionals to the facilities themselves, but it seems as if, as a community, we have come out on the other side.

“Not being able to play tennis for the last two months has been the greatest adjustment I’ve had to make in my life since elementary school,” said Tyler Cohen, a Miller Place native who plays collegiate tennis at Johnson & Wales. “Returning to play has been invigorating to say the least. It almost feels as if it’s the beginning of a comeback from an injury, except everyone has the same anticipation and excitement to reestablish a routine. There’s been a universal energy at courts everywhere that I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before.”

Kimberly Liao, a former player at Commack High School who is headed to MIT in the fall, added:

“It’s definitely great to get back on

court more regularly. I was able to find courts here and there for awhile, but it was extremely difficult and many closed after a few weeks. So with more courts open now and the weather being better, I’ve been taking advantage of this time to get back in shape and prepare for college tennis.”

Outdoor tennis returned in mid-May, and slowly but surely, as Long Island and New York State as a whole opened, the camps came back as did indoor tennis. In the lead-up to these milestones, the clubs and facilities that make up our community made the necessary preparations to safely welcome back customers, and are pleased to see familiar faces once again.

“Carefree is so happy to be open again and to see our Carefree friends and family that we missed so much. We have taken all precautions with everyone's safety as our first priority,” said Kathy Miller, General Manager of Carefree Racquet Club in Merrick. “We have installed hand sanitizers throughout the club along with disinfecting wipes, we have all foot traffic going in one direction to avoid contact with others in the alleys, we installed a five-minute warning at five-to to the hour and 25 minutes after the hour, so players know to finish up their point and vacate the court to avoid contact with the next group. Masks are required in all non playing areas of the club along with special precautions being taken by all pros when giving lessons. We hope everyone is well and hope to see everyone on the court!”

At Bethpage Park Tennis & Education Center, the facility put up an outdoor tent as part of its expansive safety measures:

“We installed outdoor tent and recommending that customers enter the clubhouse only when necessary. We have a sneeze guard at the front reception desk and we will require all staff, visitors and players to wear face coverings and only remove them while playing. Most importantly, we are limiting our summer program to only 24 students at any one time on our eight indoor courts to ensure that we can easily manage social distancing. We have also hired a certified safety director to manage our protocols and we are lucky to have two four-court air structures which have an extremely

high air-exchange rate which enhance safety according to studies.”

For Sportime Clubs, most of its clubs were able to re-open in mid-May, with Sportime Randall’s Island, the company’s flagship New York City location, opening its doors in late-June:

“The good news, in addition to that most of us are safe and healthy, and that New York has done a great job fighting the virus, is that the outdoor tennis business, at our sites, and generally, has been robust, virtually from the day courts were allowed to open in New York,” said Sportime Clubs CEO Claude Okin. “The pent up demand for tennis and recreation is reflected in levels of tennis play and programming during the month of June, and continuing into July, that are substantially greater than in 2019. This is very promising, and it does seem as if tennis, outdoors and indoors, is and will remain a safe ‘go to’ during the pandemic and in its aftermath.”

Many country clubs throughout Long Island have welcomed tennis players back onto the courts, and have put in place their own safety measures to protect their players and staff. "Safety and tennis are our two passions right now," said Ricky Becker, Director of Tennis at Pine Hollow Country Club. "We have over 30-safety guidelines in place right now including 15-minute buffers between reservations, using every other court, spraying disinfectants on any potential touch points between use, and of course following Nassau County guidelines such as singles only, as well as all other state directives. The board and I meet weekly via Zoom to review where we are at and the members have loved the fact they can feel safe at our courts."

Being able to operate summer camps is a crucial aspect of the tennis industry here on Long Island, and in this climate, ensuring that it is done in a safe manner is something that the clubs have taken very seriously.

“Our camps have also been busy in these early weeks of our ‘new normal’, welcoming almost 1000 campers a day across our sites. Our camps, and all camps, are different this year, with smaller

camper groups, often referred to as "pods", of no more than 15 kids, and with social distancing between groups, and no large group activities,” Okin added. “Despite some challenges and restrictions, we are so happy to be running camps and summer programs for kids, and I know that our campers and camp families, and all of our young athletes, are thrilled to be enjoying tennis, sports and friendships. All of our campers and junior program participants undergo a daily health screening and temperature check, which process is working smoothly. Our indoor courts opened for tennis play and programming on July 6 and business immediately started to return, including USTA Team play in the first week that the clubs were open.

There is much hard work still to be done for Sportime to be able to say we have beaten COVID-19, but we are working very hard, are as many across our industry, to make sure that tennis and sports, and all of their health and emotional benefits, can be safely enjoyed by our players and members.”

From the beginning of the process, the USTA Eastern Section and the USTA Long Island Region were at the forefront of providing up-to-date information, as well as laying out guidelines and protocols that both players and programs could refer to and ensure tennis returns both in a timely

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and safe manner.

“The USTA has been very active in providing information to stakeholders and players in the industry about returning to safe play with COVID-19 in mind,” said USTA Long Island Regional Director Jonathan Klee. “The USTA National Medical Advisory Group has provided player tips and recommendations as both competitive and recreational players ease their way back into competition. USTA Eastern has had conference calls and provided much needed educational material on clubs applying for a USTA Facility Recovery Grant, Teaching Professional Recovery Assistance, a USTA Support Hotline and Cleaning and Disinfecting Guidelines. They have also provided Participant and General Facility Release Waiver templates to be used in consultation with counsel and local laws.

Locally, we have emphasized how our indoor clubs are in better position to monitor the return to safe play than some of the outdoor facilities that have been allowed to open, and trying to educate politicians and the public as to their economic plight here on Long Island.”

The tennis industry was just one of many that were drastically impacted by the global pandemic, but the Long Island tennis community once again demonstrated its resiliency and togetherness to navigate this crisis. By enacting safety measures and protocols, the clubs and programs that comprise our industry are looking out for the health of both its staff and clientele, as well as helping to create a sustainable way forward.

The summer will conclude with the US Open in Queens. While it will be a unique

installment of the tournament, with no fans and limited player entourages, being able to wrap up the summer with one of the world’s premier sporting events right here in our backyard will help bring a sense of normalcy to our community.

Distribution scheduled for 09/15/20 This edition will feature: • 2020 U.S. Open • LI Tennis Magazine Challenge Recap • 2020 French Open Preview • 2020 Girls' High School Preview • A Look at Fall Tennis on Long Island • And Much More!

Distribution across Long Island at 300+ locations: • Indoor tennis clubs • Country clubs • Tennis camps • Retail stores • Gyms • Restaurants and health food stores • Supermarkets and • Many more!

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