Winter Junior Team Tennis a Hit

Over the course of the pandemic, a lot of things have changed. One thing that has not changed is the desire to continue playing tennis. That’s why Janet Glaser, Coordinator of USTA Kansas Junior Team Tennis (JTT)  leagues, wanted to make sure that there were still opportunities for kids in the area to get out and play.  The USTA Kansas Junior Team Tennis  league ran Jan. 2 until Feb. 6, and it went off without a hitch.

“It turned out pretty neat,” Glaser said. “JTT is comprised of high school kids that just love to play tennis, and it’s pretty much run by the kids. I was the only adult there, and every team knew where to report to.”

Matches were played at Riverside on Saturdays from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m., with as little congregating as possible. A system was worked out where players would report to their courts and play girls’ singles and boys’ doubles first. Then, after reporting scores they would swap and play boys’ singles and girls’ doubles. Finally, they would move on for the mixed doubles.

“There was no down time, kids were constantly on court and then we’d shift out the teams and put the next set on,” Glaser said.

There were plenty of safety procedures that were observed, including the use of personal tennis balls. Players would only use their own balls, making sure not to touch those that belonged to the other players.

“We kept it as safe as we could,” Glaser said. “Masks were worn until they went onto their courts, where they had the option to wear it or not.”

Glaser wanted to make sure the league could still operate to give kids an opportunity to get on the court outside of their high school seasons.

“It’s very competitive, but less stressful than their high school season,” she said. “They could meet new people and make new friends, could laugh on-court, they even talked some friendly smack. The atmosphere is truly fun and joyful.”