Nassau County exec's tennis ball safety briefing goes wrong

With many states lifting their stay-at-home restrictions, tennis enthusiasts are making their way back to the courts. While the USTA is happy to see people playing again, they want to ensure everyone is putting safety first.

As singles players stay more than six-feet apart on the court, tennis is one of the most ideal sports to play during the pandemic without any direct contact. However, adjusting to a new set of measures needs to be top of mind.

The USTA recommends washing your hands, sanitizing equipment, avoid changing ends of the court and leaving the court as soon as reasonably possible.

One specific area that the USTA buckles down on is tennis balls. Although there is no evidence that tennis balls can spread COVID-19, the contamination of respiratory droplets from an infected person can live on surfaces for up to three days. Therefore, USTA suggests that players bring their own cans and mark their balls.

New York politician Laura Curran recently spoke out about how to properly handle this and it didn't quite go according to plan.

"Unless their from the same household, everyone must bring their own tennis balls, so that you don't touch other people's tennis balls with your hands," Curran said. "You can kick their balls but you can't touch them."

Curran undoubtedly had everyone channeling their inner-fifth grader as she tried to get through the list of precautions without laughing. However, it didn't end there, as she had a couple more lines that packed a punch like a serve from John Isner.

"I'm going to blush, I'm sorry," Curran said as she let out a laugh. "If you're playing with someone in your household, you can touch those tennis balls. To avoid confusion between whose balls are whose, you can use a marker, like a sharpie to put someone's initials on them."

Police officers and others in attendance did their best to contain the laughter but it was hard to keep a straight face.

During these intense times, it's nice the world can appreciate a light dose of humor. Curran, who is now a viral star, is set to make more announcements regarding other sports in the Nassau County area, and the world is throwing their popcorn in the microwave.