Rohan Bopanna is excited to get back to the tennis court. It is not for his own training, but for the kids in his academy.
"The inter-district travel has already resumed. I will be in Bengaluru on Thursday. We plan to start tennis from Monday," said Bopanna, who had nestled in Coorg with his family during lockdown.
"The coaches will be wearing mask and gloves. Only the coaches will feed the balls and there will be a maximum of four players per court. After two hours of tennis followed by cool down exercises, one batch will leave and the next batch will come. The parents will drop their kids and wait in the car’’, said Bopanna, about the logistics.
If a player needs to practice serve, then he will have have a separate set of balls. Bopanna said that it would be harmful for kids to wear masks and play, as they need uninterrupted fresh air.
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Bopanna dismissed the suggestion of having two different-coloured balls for matches, instead of different numbered ones as advised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), saying that yellow was being used for better visibility. He also was sceptical about the idea of using a hot air blower to disinfect the balls during play, saying that it may change the pressure of the balls.
"I have to first get back to the Asics store and get fresh set of clothes. I have put on weight’’, said Bopanna, on a lighter note.
On a more serious thought, Bopanna pointed out that his academy had an "Asics tennis hour" during which the parents get to play and enjoy the game.
Interestingly, Asics has initiated an inspiring series of "comeback stories’’, starting with cricketer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who drives home the point that ‘’comeback is always stronger’’ with his own story.
"Parents are generally trying to tell the kids what to do. So, it is good to give them a taste of the game. It is a good exercise," reasoned Bopanna.
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