Tennis club expecting ‘huge increase’ in membership once courts reopen after lockdown next month

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to confirm grassroots football, tennis and golf can resume from March 29 as part of the Government's roadmap to easing lockdown restrictions.

It's a move that will be welcomed by clubs and facilities across the country - and Canoe Lake Leisure CEO John Cooke is no different.

The state-of-the-art tennis, sports and community facility has been closed since nationwide lockdown restrictions were enforced on January 4.

But now there is light at the end of the tunnel with tennis to be one of the first sports permitted to restart, as it was at the end of the first lockdown last summer.

Cooke said: ‘We’re really pleased that it’s looking really likely that tennis can restart on March 29.

‘There may be some measures in place - I don’t know if it’s going to be singles only or family doubles or how it was last year - but we can open and our members can start using our 18 tennis courts again which is great news for them and us.

‘We don’t foresee any future closures, hopefully, but who knows.

‘We’re in a position to adapt and react to any measures. We have all the hygiene and socially-distanced measures, both at Cafe Fresco, which is on site, and the pavilion and tennis courts themselves.

'It’ll be great to see everybody running around the tennis courts and, indeed, all the other courts around the country.

‘I think there might be quite a different reaction to it in terms of the number of people participating in tennis and all the other sports that are going to be allowed to play on.'

Canoe Lake Leisure saw an unprecedented upsurge in members last summer with tennis one of few sports lending itself to social distancing measures.

The Southsea-based facility increased membership by more than 100 and, having been denied the chance to play sport for long periods over the past year, Cooke can see interest rocketing at the centre again.

‘We’ve stayed in touch with the members and they’ve missed their tennis. The last time there was a lockdown and we reopened there was a lot of pent-up demand which showed how much they missed it,’ he explained.

'Obviously, we want to get back the staff on site so they can provide a great service for our members.

‘We had a huge increase in membership after the last lockdown where people wanted to play tennis - it was proving to be one of the safest sports to play in these strange times.

‘I don’t see that being any different this time.

‘There may be a few new members who perhaps don’t want to play the team sports, especially indoor team sports for obvious reasons, so we think there’ll be quite a lot of demand for our courts with the members and with the pay and play as well.'