Tennis courts have begun to open in Toronto and here's what the new rules look like

Stage 1 of reopening Ontario has begun and as of today, several individual recreational, low-risk sports including tennis are allowed to resume.

Mayfair is one facility in Toronto that's started to open its tennis court facilities for members to hit a few balls around with a lot of new health and safety guidelines in place.

According to its website, "tennis can now be played indoors under social distancing measures."

Some of these measures include:

• Each player should bring their own can of balls with a unique identifying mark (initials, symbol) and ideally from different companies for easy identification. Players should only touch their own tennis balls.
• Doubles play is only permitted if players on each team are from the same household.
• Players must wear masks when entering the facility but they can be taken off once play has begun and only when on court. 
• The club will not be supplying ball tubes.
• No physical contact like high five’s and handshakes is allowed.
• Players need to remain on the same side of the court at all times.
• Players should no longer sit on benches or use score cards.

Similarly, the Seven Oaks Tennis Club has outlined the following measures players must adhere to:

• Players much wash their hands with a disinfectant soap and water or use a hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available, before going to the court.
• Players must clean and wipe down their equipment, including racquets and water bottles. Players must not share racquets or any other equipment such as wristbands, grips, hats and towels.
• Players must bring a full water bottle to avoid touching a tap or water fountain handle.
• Players should use new balls and a new grip, if possible.
• Players should consider taking extra precautions such as wearing gloves.
• Players should try to stay at least six feet apart from other players. 
• Players should avoid touching their face after handling a ball, racquet or other equipment. 
• Players should use their racquet/foot to pick up balls and hit them to their opponent. Using hands to pick up the balls should be avoided.
• If a ball from another court comes to you, players should send it back with a kick or with their racquet.

Not every tennis club in the city, however, is ready to reopen.

The Thorncliffe Park Tennis Club notes on its site that while it's aware of the opening date, "the City of Toronto must first issue our permit and provide public health guidelines to safely reopen, it is unlikely that we will be able to open on May 19th."

Meanwhile, the Davisville Tennis Club and many others have said they're still working on preparations for reopening.