In Depth Back on the Grounds
An anxious but fun return to live tennis
What is it like returning to live tennis after the past year as the world dealt with the COVID Pandemic? Well...I have had a few days to reflect on my trip to the Western and Southern Open in Mason, OH, and thought I would take some time to share my thoughts.
I’ve been attending Cincy tennis since 2013 (minus the 2020 edition held in New York). I have also really enjoyed the event and have made a number of lifelong friendships with folks I have met in good ole Mason, Ohio.
A month ago, I found myself super excited about being able to return to my yearly tennis vacation, but as the days went on it seemed that each day brought more and more concerning COVID-related news. As a result, I found myself getting anxious about returning to a live crowded tennis event. While I knew the event would be outside, I also have not been around crowds in well over a year and wasn’t sure how comfortable I would feel. So, I went into the weekend with the mindset that I would give it a try, see what it’s like and if I found myself uncomfortable, leave. I did shorten my trip from 8 to 4 days so I would be onsite for qualifying and the first round of the main draw which would be the days where matches were most spread out among the courts.
The first day onsite I was taken aback by the lack of masks. The tournament did have masks available when entering the grounds, but masks and social distancing were not required. Luckily the weather was nice and the crowds were not too overwhelming.
Given that I haven’t been to a live tennis event, let alone a restaurant in so long I did find myself getting a bit anxious as fans would settle in around me. As a result, I would largely try to avoid any matches or practices that attracted larger gatherings.. Normally, I would spent a lot of time camping out at a practice court for a bigger name player. However, this year I skipped those courts, or would only briefly pop my head in.
Unfortunately, I was never really able to fully shake that anxious feeling. I also felt some of the precautions were not enforced or respected by the fans. A couple of areas were blocked off from fans to help give players space. This included putting up a a gate to prevent fans from filling up some areas near certain practice courts. In addition, the player entrance area was turned into a player patio/lounge area. I thought this was a good idea, as it prevented fans from crowding together waiting for players to enter the grounds, which is a tradition in Cincy. There were also multiple signs indicating that selfies and autographs were not allowed. This was one area I felt the tournament could have done more as it wasn’t really enforced. Fans would often run up to players asking for photos and autographs as they walked around the grounds. I thought this put the players in an awkward position since had to turn down a bunch of fans if they weren’t comfortable. In addition, when I bought a jumbo tennis ball in the gift shop I was asked if I wanted a sharpie (which is what is normally done to get autographed). This felt counter intuitive. In a perfect world, I would also have wished vaccines and/or masks were required. While I know the enforcement and logistics of this would be hard to arrange, it would have been the ideal scenario for me and my comfort level.
The good news was it really allowed me to catch some players that I normally wouldn’t get to see which turned out to be a really fun experience. I was really looking forward to seeing Ons Jabeur play in person for the first time, and there wasn’t a big crowd at her match vs. Anett Kontaveit. This ended up being a really fun match and I was really able to sit back and enjoy it.
The early days of the tournament were very rainy. This led to some long delays which ended up backing of the order of play on Monday and Tuesday. This made the crowds much worse as both day and night session fans were all on site at the same time and the food court and bar areas were full of people. I was fairly bummed out, both because of the number of people crowded together in small spaces without masks, but also because the rain delays were so much fun with my group of friends that normally would attend with me. To avoid the crowds and the rain, I would sneak off into my car in the parking lot to wait out the weather. It was a bit lonely during these delays, but some snacks and social media scrolling helped pass the time.
I did get the chance to see Coco Gauff play, definitely a highlight of my trip!
Her matches and practices did attract a higher number of fans, so I was able to catch and Su-Wei Hsieh on center court which started early in the day session, but I skipped her doubles match on the crowded court 3 later that night
I loved seeing tennis in person for the first time in two years. I remembered how much I enjoy watching tennis again, and I found myself just jumping from one match to the next to try to see as many players as possible. It was really exhilarating to hear the tennis ball coming off the rackets and being able to watch the patterns of play develop from court side. Since the start of COVID I started to become more and more apathetic toward the sport in general. It seemed like the world both inside and outside of tennis was taking away from my enjoyment of the matches. However, this trip really made me enjoy the sport again. I felt so happy and reinvigorated at the opportunity to see so many players I normally wouldn’t get the chance too. I am happy that I did shorten the trip, as I think attending the first five days was the perfect scenario. While I definitely felt nervous at times, I left feeling happy being able to get a small bit of normalcy back in an otherwise very not normal situation.
Are you also looking to attend tennis again and feeling nervous? If you are in the same boat as me, I can offer a few tips/ideas to help you navigate through your first trip back to live tennis—I'll start with the obvious: Get Vaccinated! When it comes to attending the actual event, I always say tennis fans need the Dark Sky App. It is one of the best for letting you know when rain is the way as it gives you the weather for your exact location. While it isn’t going to be 100% right, I avoided a lot of hassle by being able to get out of the stadium and stay dry before the rain came. Dark Sky also allowed me plenty of time to get to my car, so I didn’t have to get stuck with a large crowd huddled in one of the few dry spaces on the grounds. If possible, I would also advocate for driving to the event so you can have a space onsite with some snacks and water where you are guaranteed to be away from the crowds. Also, Uber/Lyft services were very limited and unreliable this year. Anecdotally, I heard this was due to the pandemic and there were just fewer drivers. So, you may want to plan ahead for transportation options if a car is not available to you. I also would recommend you bring your own hand sanitizer, masks, etc. While there will likely be options for safety measures onsite, it was just easier to have these available to me right away when I needed them.
I also suggest you keep tabs on the order of play and practice schedules. If there are more higher profile players on the schedule that you don’t feel you personally need to see, use those times to stock up on your food or drinks at the food court. This is likely dependent on the venue, but if a bigger name is practicing or playing it will often pull larger crowds to that court, opening up other parts of the grounds. Many times, I was able to eat my meals in relative peace and quiet when I planned them out based on the order of play. I also suggest using this opportunity to find some players you maybe haven’t heard of or haven’t seen live in a smaller crowd setting. It is always fun to discover a player that is new to you and watch them play in person. Ultimately, you have to do what you feel is safe and what you are comfortable with while also being sure it is an experience you can look back on and enjoy.
In the end, I left my time at the Western and Southern Open very happy. I found myself falling back in the love with the sport I’ve spent so much time watching over the years. While some of the nerves and anxiety was still present I was able to find other ways to enjoy my time. If you are looking to attend live tennis again and feel nervous about it, feel free to reach out with questions!