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74. ICE AND A SLICE?
It’s January. It’s -5 deg C outside (23 deg F), -1 deg C inside (30 deg F). The tournament is being held indoors but the walls are metal and there is limited cladding on the inside. The courts are cold. The air is cold. The players are cold. The officials are cold. There is no heating and as a result the balls are hard and like bullets, and the rallies extremely short. This is no indoor tennis venue with bright lights and climate controlled heating. This is Sunderland in the UK and we are just lucky that it isn’t raining, as when that happens the umpires are given towels to wipe the lines, and buckets are strategically placed around to the courts to catch the water dropping from the roof. Welcome to the reality of life on the tour for the majority. Breakpoint this is not!
Now of course, a player can choose where she plays her events but at this time of year the options are limited and choices have to be made according to the budgets available. This month the alternatives are in India, Argentina, Florida, Thailand and Guadaloupe, but the cost of flights to these locations, at this time of year, are not cheap and many players simply cannot afford them. So the UK, or France, or Portugal are where many of the players head, armed with winter coats and plenty of layers, oh and not to forget copious amounts of hand cream to try to prevent those nasty cold weather splits in the skin on fingers and thumbs – it’s not easy to play when you thumb is throbbing because of a cut caused by the cold. Don’t forget hands are a part of a player’s tool box. They need to be looked after, and whilst a player can wear gloves off court, to try and play with them on is a non starter.
The graft at the lower/mid range of the tennis tour is tough and the players (and spectators) cannot wait for the warmer weather and the outdoor events. This week the air in the tennis centre in Sunderland is frosty and whilst the cafe is warm and buzzing, the courts are like a fridge and you can visibly see the coaches recoil when their player gets called to court, because they know they are in for a good couple of hours of cold therapy! Roll on the summer……..
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