Every time the US Open rolls out the court drying Zambonis, I fantasize about how awesome it would be to have one at my disposal. That heavy equipment is wholly impractical for personal use for multiple reasons. However, the US Open also uses a device that is fully within the reach of the average recreational player. Every tennis player should own a lithium-ion battery powered leaf blower.
Due to a questionable decision to leave the roof open during the Round of 16 match between Cam Norrie and Andre Rublev, we had the chance to see the EGO Cordless Leaf Blower in action. The US Open uses a stick model, which is the one that I currently recommend for personal use.
The Fiend at Court Household owns the larger backpack model. It is considerably more powerful than the stick model, but it is also costs more and is unwieldy. However, if it is being used on a very wet court, then the increased comfort is worth it. Here is a video of the Trophy Husband demonstrating how effective the EGO products are at drying the surface and clearing large puddles.
On a related note, after the widespread winter storm power failures in Texas in 2021, we discovered that EGO makes a power inverter with two USB charging ports and a standard 120V power outlet. That means that fully charged EGO batteries can be used as an emergency power source and phone charger. In our testing, our battery successfully powered an LED light bulb for just shy of 24 hours using the power inverter.
My original post on “The EGO Leaf Blower” from 2020 contains a much longer exposition on why every tennis player should consider adding this device to their arsenal.
Thanks for the tip on the blower. Looks like something I need.