In the backyard of his Bridgehampton home, Chris Husband’s light brown Labradoodle, Bailey, holds back from chasing tennis balls and sits patiently as just another spectator near his home’s newest addition: a grass tennis court.
To get their tennis fix, at least four Bridgehampton families have endeavored to recreate the sport at home, building tennis courts in the empty spaces of their backyards while the COVID-19 pandemic keeps gyms and most recreational facilities closed. Husband, 50, said he took inspiration from a friend, Thomas Babcock, 37, who first had the idea after gyms and courts closed in mid-March.
To be clear, this is no Wimbledon, Meadow or even Buckskill Tennis Club, which offers its members a set of well-manicured grass tennis courts. These self-made courts at home were carved from the grass with a lawnmower, and made official with a can of spray paint and a $100 tennis net purchased from Amazon. From the sky, however, the stopgap courts look strikingly similar to those of the more renowned clubs mentioned — contrasts in grass color, white-clothed players and spectators in lawn chairs.
And despite their natural flaws — Husband and Babcock both said they have to use kids-sized tennis balls to secure the proper bounce — the perks of the courts are seemingly endless: easy-access exercise and fun for family and friends.
The group of players has expanded to 12, and although no league has developed, the games don’t lack intensity.
“It’s pretty competitive,” Husband said. “It's fun. Everybody's laughing the whole time.”
"Lawn tennis," as the variety played at venues like Wimbledon is known, requires a court with a meticulously composed base layer of sand, dirt and gravel, carefully fertilized grass and constant upkeep. Instead, Husband and Babcock coined their makeshift variety "yard tennis" — they didn't want to infringe on the nomenclature of such an esteemed pastime.
“Lawn tennis has a certain connotation so we prefer to call this yard tennis, which is more appropriate given its humble roots,” Babcock quipped.
All four courts are of different dimensions, Husband said. Each family had measured their courts to fit their respective yards. Husband’s court is 52 feet by 25 feet and Babcock’s is around 58 by 20. A regulation doubles court is 78 feet by 36 feet.
With stay-at-home guidelines in place and the weather warming in March, Babcock and his family — including his two young twin daughters — were looking for an outlet to exercise.
Babcock explained how in early April, he joined with his brother to stake the court out, using a lawnmower and a 300-pound roller to perfect the surface. For the net, Babcock purchased one from Amazon. Husband said his net was the “largest kids tennis net you can get.”
“Turns out I probably wasn't the only person with the idea because it was backordered about three weeks,” Babcock said.
In all, the two men constructed their courts in just shy of four hours. Husband actually would’ve liked to construct two courts in his own backyard, but he was constrained by space. “Ideally you'd have two courts,” he said, “because then you would play on one while the other rests, while the grass recovers. But our yard isn't big enough.”
“I like taking care of my lawn, I’m kind of a lawn geek, so this was another lawn geek protect,” Husband said. He acknowledged he is still learning how to best cut the court’s grass and maintain its levelness. His grass, he said, could use a refresher, but noted that it’s hard to grow grass in the hot summer months. The grass on Husband’s court now resembles a more yellow tone, partially due the lack of rainfall this summer, but also a result of its increased use — Babcock said the group most frequently uses Husband’s court for competition.
As with most playing areas, the inevitable loss of tennis balls to the surrounding shrubbery can cause headaches. Husband joked that he has lost quite a few balls to neighboring bushes and trees.
Tennis time is reserved for when enough players are off work — evenings as the sun sets and on weekends. They intend to continue playing throughout the summer, despite one small hiccup for Babcock: “Chris is too good and I can't beat him,” he joked.
As the summer continues, Babcock said they don't plan to continue expanding the network. “I don't think we'll take it any further,” he said. “It’s just is fun to play with our friends and hopefully we do it again next year.”