Tennis fans will see gradual reopening of courts
Quebecers will be allowed to play tennis Wednesday, but finding an open court might prove difficult.
The city of Montreal has an extensive network of public courts, but they will be reopened gradually during the next two weeks.
There are more than 30 parks in the city with public courts, but nets have been installed at only two of them — Lafontaine Park and Jeanne Mance Park. It appears the city is following the original guidelines regarding social distancing issued by Tennis Quebec and has set up nets on alternate courts.
The public courts at Tennis Canada’s National Training Centre at Jarry Park will be partially open Wednesday with four courts available. Seven other courts are being rebuilt and won’t be completed until the end of June.
All public and private facilities will follow the regulations outlined by the provincial government last week. Only singles play is permitted and players will be required to show up no earlier than 10 minutes before their reservation and must leave immediately after playing.
Private clubs or clubs that feature a private-municipal partnership have taken different approaches to social distancing.
The Hillside Tennis Club on Côte-des-neiges Road will use four of its six courts, leaving an empty space between courts.
The Valois Tennis Club in Pointe-claire planned to use three of its five courts, leaving space in between courts, but now plans to open four courts.
“One of our courts is under construction and we felt there were going to be a lot of members anxious to play when the weather is good,” said club president Fred Ross.
Valois is one of the many private clubs featuring a Har-tru surface, which requires more preparations.
The delay in the government decision to allow tennis and other outdoor recreation left some clubs scrambling to get their courts ready to play.
That wasn’t the case with the Dorval Municipal Tennis Club and the Hampstead Tennis Club. The preparations at both clubs is looked after by the municipality and they were ready to go well in advance of the government okay.
Two of Montreal’s most popular clubs, Monkland and Mount Royal, are at least a week away from opening. They are still preparing their Har-tru courts while developing protocols for dealing with the virus.
The Montreal West Tennis Club is hoping to open in June and will probably ask members to pay a user fee to cover the cost of hiring someone to monitor reservations and social distancing.
Demographics might prevent the Côte-st-luc Tennis Club from opening. Because the club has an older membership, there are concerns about health risks and the singles-only rule.