Tennis fans will rejoice. The federation sent Tuesday to all clubs in France the recovery protocol, validated by the Ministry of Sports and which must be implemented from May 11, at the start of deconfinement. The sanitary rules to be followed, however, remain strict.
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Practitioners will only be able to play outside and will have to arrive already in uniform, changing rooms requires. It will also be mandatory to clean your bench or chair with a disinfectant before and after playing. During changes of side, it will be necessary to pass on both sides of the net not to cross closely. And the traditional handshake at the end of the game is obviously prohibited.
"The main thing is to find the lessons"
"These instructions are strict, but the main thing is to find the courses," rejoices Bernard Dupouy, president of VillaPrimrose, a hundred-year-old Bordeaux tennis club, at the microphone of Europe 1. "We will follow these recommendations at the letter, because they are essential for members to return, "he said.
Currently, only singles matches are allowed. Another instruction: prohibition for a player to pick up the balls of his opponent. "It sounds surprising, but it's easy to set up: you just need two boxes of balls, annotated differently," says Bernard Dupouy. His club provides stocks of hydroalcoholic gel available to players, and wipes to disinfect equipment.
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These instructions are valid until June 2. Bernard Dupouy hopes that the health situation will make it possible to soften the new rules a little later. "According to the government's instructions, we may then be able to find a more traditional practice ..."