Tennis Technology and Training
Since I returned to competitive tennis, every vehicle I use to travel to tournaments has been fitted with a set of rain shields. Additionally, each set I have ordered for my cars was placed from that vehicle during a rain delay at the Westwood Senior Championships. As I completed that ritual last weekend, I had the sharp and sudden realization that vehicular rain guards are essential equipment for tournament tennis players.
A rain guard is a plastic shield that protects the interior of the vehicle from rain when the windows are cracked open. It is an inevitable fact that if you play tennis tournaments on a regular basis, a certain amount of time will be spent in a car watching it rain. Due to… well, physics… when it rains it is usually pretty humid. It can get stuffy in the car in a hurry. Cracking the windows is the environmentally friendly alternative to running the engine to power the air conditioning.
Somehow I always forget to order rain guards for my new vehicles until after I am sitting in my car at Westwood. From this past weekend I can personally attest that nothing shifts the direction of the wind faster than getting the window cracks calibrated perfectly for rain-free air flow. Those are fleeting moments.
This year I was astonished at how far rain guard prices have fallen as more competitors have entered this market. The new set that I ordered last weekend was roughly half what I paid for the guards for my previous vehicle. I really wish I had remembered to outfit my car with a set before last weekend.
Every tennis player should consider installing a set of rain guards on your vehicle in anticipation of the fact that eventually it will rain. Alternatively you can wait until you are sweltering in your car during a lengthy rain delay to order them for the next tournament. Don’t be like me.
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