After Daniel Thomas came home early from travels in Central America to spend time with his parents where he grew up in Canberra, a game of tennis played with his brother, Sean, on the road quickly turned serious.
Sean Thomas, 29, turned up the next day with a whipper snipper, a couple of cans of line marking paint, and some nets borrowed from the school where he teaches.
"They weren't going to be used for a while," he said.
The next thing the brothers knew, they had the best lawn tennis court in Griffith. The only lawn tennis court in Griffith, on a park near their parents' house.
"It plays pretty well, it just probably looks worse than it is. When it was first cut, obviously there was still a grass covering on it. So it looks really good. On photos when we first marked it up, it looked really good, but it played awfully. Now it's got wear and use, and it's got a lot of dirt patches on it, and they actually play quite well," Sean Thomas said.
If Nick Kyrgios is struggling to find a court in Canberra and wants to practise his volleys, we won't give him much of a challenge, but he's welcome to give it a crack.
Daniel Thomas
Daniel Thomas, 30, said the whole family had always been keen on the game. "Parents, uncles, aunties, everyone. Everyone loves tennis in our extended family," he said.
As Canberrans enter their second month of social distancing, some have turned to baking, indoor plant tending and hosting drinks by video link. Establishing a tennis court is perhaps a little more unusual.
"I've always wanted a house with a backyard big enough for a grass court. So I just thought, with a bit of time, have a bit of an experiment. Obviously it's rough, but yeah," Sean Thomas said.
The first few days saw the pair playing very regularly but the competitive spirit has since dropped back to regular weekend matches.
"Prepare the court, Sean will come over, a bit later another friend might come over, always maintaining the one-on-one. So maybe, like a Saturday or Sunday afternoon kind of thing now," Daniel Thomas said.
There is already talk of a Griffith Grand Slam when social distancing restrictions are lifted, with friends eager to test out the surface and perfect their volleys.
"And definitely when the lock down's finished, there's a lot of chat about some sort of mini, mock tournament here. And we'll bring the strawberries and cream out. Yeah, people are keen to come over," he said.
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The pair said they encouraged people socially distancing during the pandemic to "just do it" when it came to establishing their own neighbourhood tennis court. And they would readily welcome big-name players looking to work on their skills on grass.
"If Nick Kyrgios is struggling to find a court in Canberra and wants to practise his volleys, we won't give him much of a challenge, but he's welcome to give it a crack," Daniel Thomas said.
Tennis courts in the ACT have been closed since the end of March, except for one-one-one sessions with coaches, which are permitted under social distancing regulations.
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