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SYDNEY (Reuters) -
Australians have flocked to tennis courts in record numbers
since social distancing measures put in place to contain the
COVID-19 outbreak were relaxed, Tennis Australia (TA) said on
Saturday.
Australia has been generally successful in containing the new
coronavirus, even if the populous southern state of Victoria on
Friday experienced a 10th straight day of double-digit new
infections.
The relaxation of restrictions began in some parts of Australia
in early May and the government has pledged to remove the bulk
of them by the end of July, although each state and territory is
determining its own pace.
TA said data from its "Book a Court" online system showed a
record 32,234 bookings made last month, with traffic doubling
from a year earlier among venues that were using the system in
May 2019.
"During the pandemic, we are seeing more people enjoying the
social, mental and physical benefits of (tennis) while
maintaining strict physical distancing measures," TA chief
executive Craig Tiley said in a statement.
"As restrictions in most of the country continue to ease over
the coming months, we hope to build on these results as we
approach our summer."
Professional tennis also returns to Australia this weekend with
the A$450,000 ($311,000) UTR Pro Series getting underway under
strict biosecurity protocols at closed venues in Sydney,
Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by William Mallard)
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