Any engineers out there? I need a new product developed asap.

One of the biggest annoyances of playing outside is the frequency of balls rolling onto neighboring courts. A few private clubs provide net dividers between outdoor courts, but they’re rare. And they’re non-existent at public courts, the usual haunt of schlubs like me.

What I need is a portable netting system, compact enough to toss into my tennis bag. I envision it working like those old prank snakes, coiled in a soup can-sized box. Remember those? The unsuspecting victim unsnaps the lid and the snake springs out, life-sized.

Net dividers between courts are large, but let’s face it. They’re mostly holes, right? There’s not a lot of actual material to them. So we just need to compress it all down into a small box, add some springs and whatnot, and presto! Instant tennis curtain.

(True, stuffing it back into the box after the match could present a challenge. Maybe the loser has to do that.)

If someone could get to work on this product, I’d appreciate it. In the meantime, we’re left to deal with annoying ball interruptions every few minutes. So let’s talk about lets. Continue reading “Let’s Talk Lets” →