In Great Britain, tennis is slowly edging back as the COVID-19 lockdown eases. Courts in England are re-opening with restrictions in place, limiting recreational tennis limited to singles, or doubles if all four players live together. Facilities in Scotland are expected to open in the coming days, but courts in Wales remain closed.

The easing of lockdown restrictions has meant the chance for many of GB’s elite players to return to training on court, with the LTA’s National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, London, welcoming its first crop of players in almost two months earlier in May.

Among those back in action is Joe Salisbury, doubles world No.7 and reigning Australian Open champion, having claimed his first Grand Slam title alongside Rajeev Ram in January. His assessment of the NTC in the age of COVID: very quiet, given the reduced numbers allowed on site.

“They’ve obviously got to follow all the government guidelines, so there are a lot of restrictions in place,” said the 28-year-old Londoner. “There’s only a certain number of players allowed to use it at the moment because they’re cleaning everything in between the morning and afternoon slots, and they are only using a certain number of courts to keep in line with social distancing. They do a temperature check when we get there, making sure you’re feeling healthy. They’ve got everything in place to make sure they’re reducing the risk as much as possible.”

It's a far cry from the scenes Salisbury left behind at Indian Wells in March. At the time he counted himself among those who wondered if cancelling the BNP Paribas Open might have been an overreaction. “We were all surprised, thinking that it was a bit over-cautious, but then everything escalated pretty quickly.”

Salisbury returned to his home in London, where the LTA provided him with home workout equipment to keep in shape. Almost eight weeks later, he made a tentative return to court.

“I had a bit of a wrist injury that I was managing before lockdown, so I’ve been pretty cautious getting back on court. I’ve been hitting every other day, slowly getting back into it. But yeah, it was nice to get back on court again and hit some balls.”

There have been upsides to the unanticipated downtime, then, but Salisbury admits to suffering the same frustrations as most people forced to stay home during the pandemic.

“It has been quite tough,” he said. “In general I’m quite good at keeping myself busy – I’m used to it on the tour, having to spend a lot of time on your own in hotels. You’ve got your training, your matches and your gym work, and after that there’s a lot of free time.

“But there have definitely been some tough days. Some days have been good, really productive and getting things done, feeling good about myself, and other days you just have no motivation to do anything. So, good days and bad days, but overall I’d say I’ve coped fairly well.”

"I knew I was better at doubles than singles. My game has a lot to with my net play, my serve and my athleticism, all of which is suited towards the doubles game"

When the tour does return to action, Salisbury will look to pick up where he left off, having worked his way to the upper reaches of the men’s doubles rankings over the course of the past four years since switching his focus from singles. His wildcard surge to the semi-finals at Wimbledon alongside former champion Freddie Nielsen in 2018 proved to be something of a watershed; later that year he went on to win his first ATP doubles titles in Shenzhen and Vienna to end the year in the world’s top 30, teeing up a 2019 season with Ram that saw the Anglo-American duo reach five finals, winning titles in Dubai and, for Salisbury, the defence of his Vienna crown.

Asked if he had expected the transition from singles to doubles to pay off so soon, Salisbury said: “I knew it was possible, but I didn’t really expect it. The first time I really believed I had done the right thing was probably when I made the semi-final at Wimbledon, knowing that I could make it to the top of the doubles game. Even though I could have had an okay singles career, I don’t know what kind of ranking I could have got to, I wouldn’t have had the sort of success that I’ve had in doubles so far.”

Health factors also played their part in Salisbury’s decision. An effervescent, energetic figure with an imposing all-court game, he has at times struggled with chronic fatigue issues during his career. “I had glandular fever when I was younger, and I think it may have been linked to that. I’d have a few tough weeks and then my body would shut down and I’d feel knackered for a week. And that kept happening – it happened soon after I played Wimbledon qualifying in 2016, and that’s when I decided to stop. I was away at a tournament in Portugal and felt wiped out, lost a terrible match. I made the decision that if I wasn’t able to train properly and get in good enough shape for singles, then I wouldn’t be able to make it to the top of the game.

“So that was part of the reason. But even when I was fit and healthy, I’d been thinking about it – I knew I was better at doubles than singles. My game has a lot to with my net play, my serve and my athleticism, all of which is suited towards the doubles game.”

"I didn’t think we were a million miles away from contending for a Grand Slam... it was pretty special when we did"

While Salisbury and Ram enjoyed a successful 2019 in the Briton’s first full season on the ATP Tour, capped by their run to the ATP Finals at London’s O2 Arena – an “ambitious” pre-season goal – his switch was firmly vindicated in Melbourne at the start of 2020 when the duo claimed their first Grand Slam title together, beating Aussie pair Max Purcell and Luke Saville in the final.

“Australia was again another huge achievement," said Salisbury, whose ranking peaked at No.3 shortly afterwards. "I didn’t think we were a million miles away from contending for a Grand Slam, but the furthest I’d gone with Rajeev before that was a quarter-final. It was a big, big step, and we knew we had the level to beat the top teams, we just hadn’t put it together consistently at one of the Grand Slams. But it was pretty special when we did.”

Training for doubles continues even in isolation, with Salisbury focusing on specific drills at the NTC with coach Justin Sherring and his hitting partner rather than playing points. Ram and Salisbury have been keeping tabs on one another during the lockdown, and the plan is for them to remain in tandem for the rest of the season.

“He’s back home in California, doing similar things, trying to keep fit and look after his body,” Salisbury explained. “He’s a bit older than me, so he’s making sure he’s taking care of everything and stays fully fit! He’s been back hitting balls for a week or so, but we don’t yet know when we’ll be back playing together. We’ll probably be training where we are until the tour returns – and who knows when that will be.”

In the meantime, Salisbury has done his best to put the extra time to good use for both body and mind: “I’ve managed to stay pretty fit working out at home and doing a bit of biking, running, yoga and strength work,” he said.

“Beyond that, I’ve tried to keep myself busy with a lot of things. I’ve been trying to learn some Spanish, I’ve been reading more, doing more video analysis work and looking back through some old matches.

“I’m interested in reading about self-improvement and psychology – one of the best books I’ve read is The Chimp Paradox, about mind management. Then there’s a more spiritual book, The Power is Now, which is again about managing your mind, being aware of your thoughts and staying in the present moment. Those are two that have had the biggest impact. It’s definitely something I’ve tried to work on and always will be, because it’s so important for tennis and life in general.

“It’s nice to get back on court now, to get out and about a bit more. But it’s still tough. I miss travelling, miss competing. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we can again.”