Following the announcement by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, on April 28, of the de-containment plan to combat the spread of COVID-19, the French Tennis Federation, informed by a college of scientific experts, has drawn up a plan to resume the practice of tennis and paratennis in its affiliated clubs. It welcomes the quality of the exchanges with the Ministry of Sports, which should enable the latter to confirm the possibility of resuming certain tennis activities, in strict compliance with health protection rules.

This is how tennis and paratennis could resume in “leisure” practice as of May 11. This should then be done in singles and on outdoor courts, for outdoor play. Individual lessons, supervised by a state-certified teacher and up to date with his professional card, would also be authorized, as well as the resumption of training for high-level players.

In order to best support the clubs, the FFT has drawn up a precise and pragmatic protocol for the gradual release of confinement intended for managers, players and teachers in affiliated clubs. Any resumption of club activity will be conditioned on the one hand by government instructions which should be published soon and on the other hand, by compliance with federal protocol. In addition, affiliated clubs are invited to strictly comply with any decisions made by local public authorities.

For their part, the players will have to respect several instructions to practice their discipline in optimal health safety conditions. In order to remind the good gestures to adopt, an educational poster has also been created and will be displayed in the clubs. Practitioners should, for example, already arrive in tennis gear with their own equipment and clean the bench or the chair with a disinfectant before and after playing. Each player will also be asked to use balls bearing a distinctive sign, at a rate of 4 to 6 balls per person, and to serve only with his marked balls. Each practitioner must, in responsibility, respect the basic rules of health security.

In addition, a guide has been produced by the National Technical Department in order to offer numerous exercises, adapted to small groups of school children, in strict compliance with health protection rules. This type of activity could be offered by voluntary clubs to local and school authorities.

Finally, the FFT is currently studying the protocols for resuming group lessons, the practice of doubles, competition but also the practice of associated disciplines (padel, beach tennis and tennis) in view of the next stages of deconfinement.

« We had constant concern for public health. Our doctrine is that sport contributes greatly to this. At this point, we had the immense satisfaction that our proposal to include the practice of the simple, on outdoor ground, was welcomed by the Minister of Sports. We are constantly trying to anticipate, prepare for a resumption of physical activity in our clubs, in responsibility and supporting them as best as possible despite all the constraints of the moment "Says Bernard Giudicelli, President of the French Tennis Federation.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovers the padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since padel is part of his life. You often see him touring France going to cover the major events of padel French.

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