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U.S. Open During COVID: A Stringer's Tale

Jamie Stevenson, U.S, Open Stringer
Jamie Stevenson
Jamie Stevenson, U.S. Open Stringer

Normally the U.S. Open is teeming with the energy of New York City, and tens of thousands of raucous, rabid tennis fans. This year, no fans are attending, and the stands are quiet. But tucked away beneath the stands, there’s a whole lot of hard work going on to keep the tournament going.

Jamie Stevenson is the Sports Facilities Manager for the Bonita Bay Club in Bonita Springs. He is working the U.S. Open as a stringer, keeping the players’ racquets in shape. He described how the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center feels this year:

“The atmosphere is definitely different,” Stevenson says. “I have been here as a fan many times and the energy is completely different. Everything is based on safety, safety, safety right now. You have to fill out health questionnaires, temperature checks, COVID testing every 4 days. Our stringing team, we are either in our hotel in Manhattan, or on site. We’re not allowed out in the city and we’re really not allowed off the grounds. All our meals are provided 24/7. We are treated really well. The closest scenario I would say is like a sequestered jury.”

This first week of play calls for the largest number of stringers because the largest number of players are still in the two-week tournament. At the peak, Stevenson says, there are about 22 stringers working. I asked him how many racquets he and his colleagues will string before it’s all over.

“The U.S. Open will be around 5,000 racquets strung. I personally, in the time I am here, will string over 250 racquets,” he says. “We leave the hotel at 7 every morning, and the first vans in the evening leave at 8:30 or 9 at night. Some people are leaving as late as midnight.”

Odd as this year is, Stevenson says he’s impressed with the organization of the event and the attention being given to not spreading the virus.

“I applaud them for the effort that’s being put in to make an event. It’s a much more subdued vibe,” Stevenson says. “I’ve never been part of a made for TV event – it’s always a made for live event. This one is definitely different. They’ve done a good job from a safety standpoint. Even the racquets get disinfected three times from the time they are checked in to the time they go back to the player. Everything is about safety. Usually here it’s about speed and it’s now more about safety.”

I asked him if he had learned anything new about his craft under these strange circumstances.

“I will tell you that the younger stringers are faster than the old guy that I am,” Stevenson says with a laugh. “However, they have a tendency to wear out a little quicker. The takeaways for me have been little things that can improve efficiency, which then improves time. I’ve never been somebody who worried too much about time. I’m always more worried about quality. But doing this day in and day out for hours and hours and hours a day, you come to appreciate certain techniques that can improve your efficiency a little bit. Surreal is the only word that comes to mind. It’s just not normal. And I hope it doesn’t become normal because I kinda liked it the other way.”

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