Tennis Reopens 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 8
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
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
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
