Part 24 of USA TODAY’s Working Out From Home (#WOFH) series focuses on how to safely play tennis under social distancing guidelines. Sign up for Good Sports, our…
Part 24 of USA TODAY’s Working Out From Home (#WOFH) series focuses on how to safely play tennis under social distancing guidelines. Sign up for Good Sports, our weekly newsletter that will bring you more home workout tips and the best stories of the good throughout the world of sports:
Even as the parts of the country start the process of opening back up in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the truth is that most recreational sports are not compatible with the kind of measures to keep people healthy that may be in place for weeks and months to come.
But that’s where I’m lucky. My sport is tennis, and according to the United States Tennis Association, there’s a way to play it safely in cities and states that have entered Phase 1 of the White House’s reopening guidelines.
“Our sport is conducive to social distancing,” the USTA’s CEO and executive director Michael Dowse said in a phone interview. “Health and safety is paramount and tennis comes second, but once that first box is checked and it’s deemed safe, it’s the perfect sport for all of us to participate in coming out of this pandemic.”
Dowse, of course, has an interest in promoting tennis. But if you follow the guidelines his organization released last week, it really is an ideal competitive activity to take up during this period where it’s uncertain when pickup basketball or flag football games will be safe to play.
First and foremost, tennis is a non-contact sport played mostly outdoors where the participants in a singles match are typically at least 60 feet from each other.
