Tennis On Lockdown: Local Players Stay Ready For The Court

With stay-at-home orders lifting, we know many of our players are itching to get back on the courts. We decided to check in with some of our local members to see how they’ve been keeping themselves tennis-ready while in lockdown. 

Junior Brown, director of tennis at the Topeka Country Club, has been keeping his players in shape with drills they can do in their yard.

“A lot of local players I know have been doing driveway rallying with a family member or by hitting the ball against a garage door,” Brown said. “I’ve also had some kids doing shadowing swings and footwork drills while stuck at home.”

Local player Chad Unrein has focused on staying active off the court by making exercise a family activity. 

“My wife, my two-and-a-half-year-old son and I go on walks most evenings and she takes him on runs and bike rides several times a week,” Unrein said. “I’ve also kept up my usual fitness by working out in our home gym. I love tennis but I’ve only touched my racquet a few times in the past couple of months.”

Jazzmyn Williams is preparing to start her freshman season on the tennis team at Friends University in the fall. While she admits that staying active during lockdown has been challenging, she hasn’t let it stop her from keeping moving. 

“One thing I’ve tried to do is find a wall and hit by myself,” Williams said. “Another good thing I’ve been doing is at-home workouts every day to try and stay in shape.”

Workouts from home are a great way to stay ready for the court. You can find tons of ideas and inspiration online.

“My wife Rachel and I have been hitting our home gym,” local player Ben Seitz said. “She joined an online fitness challenge where they send out a workout each day with videos on how to do the exercises.”

As lockdowns are beginning to lift, some players have been able to get on the courts while being mindful of social distancing rules. 

“We’ve continued to play as much as we can through this, sometimes with family but mostly with friends,” said Jamil Toubassi, a local member. “We’ve been very careful to do social distancing and use hand sanitizer when playing, but we all love tennis too much to stop!”