Pirates Tennis Club looks forward to hosting a record-breaking match

Pirates Tennis Club has stayed in contact with its members during the lockdown and is doing all it can to abide by Tennis South Africa (TSA) guidelines which may help the sport open again soon.

Currently, non-contact professional sports are allowed to be played under lockdown Level 3 regulations, but TSA is still in communication with the government as to how this can be safely implemented in tennis. The sport’s governing body has submitted a proposal for the return of tennis in South Africa, which would include tennis played at grassroots and club level and incorporates an adjusted strategy for each level of lockdown.

For Pirates, this means the courts will remain empty at least for a few more weeks.

Club chairperson, Wayne Tucker said Pirates was monitoring the situation closely and would follow the guidelines TSA set out in its proposal.

Some of these safety precautions include but are not limited to: labelling tennis balls with a permanent marker so only one player touches each ball, clubhouses only opening from lockdown Level 2, making hand sanitisers available, cleaning coaching equipment, and doubles tennis only being permitted from lockdown Level 2.

“We have continued to communicate with all members via our newsletter and WhatsApp group, and are also passing on any developments that are communicated with us from Tennis South Africa,” Tucker said. “It is all a bit non-sensical at present and the main focus for the members has been to focus on the sustenance of Pirates Sports Club as a whole.”That said, the tennis club hopes to hold a record-breaking match as soon as legislation allows. This will be a 62-hour doubles match featuring the same four players for the duration of the event. TSA wishes to permit doubles matches only from lockdown Level 2 so the record-breaking match may have to wait until then, and that is if TSA’s proposal is approved by government.