The Rivonia Recreation Club hosted a social men’s doubles tennis tournament on 13 September.
Keeping to the Level 2 lockdown restrictions of having 50 people or less, 32 players ranging in skill levels took to the courts for the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in the country.
The tournament was in round-robin style with individual players alternating partners for each match. The matches were played on six hard courts and two grass courts.
Matthew Bayley, manager of the Rivonia Recreation Club for the past seven years, said the tournament was more of an invitational one than something competitive and was something fun for the club. “Often times you’ve got players who come on the court and are incredibly serious and competitive.”
He added, “The point of today is to have fun, make some money with the raffles we’ve got, and showcase the club. It’s about getting everything going after the Covid lockdown.
“Very soon, we would like to host a women’s doubles tournament as well.”
While there was a social aspect and welcoming players back to the sport, the main highlight of the day was the possibility for the players to play on the grass courts. The club’s bowls lawns were transformed into temporary courts with borrowed equipment from Bryanston Tennis Club.
Bayley said there was a big interest in having grass courts available for people to play and watch tennis on. “We want to make permanent courts, since the bowls lawn is enough to make four of them as they have two greens.
“People are really itching to come and play. What is nice is that membership is going through the roof. People are looking for alternative forms of exercise since they don’t want to go to the gym anymore.”
A fines meeting took place and memorabilia were handed out among the players. There was a variety of food and drinks available for everyone present.
