Last October I posted a photo of this Foot Bath sign. A couple of experienced tennis players commented that they had never heard of this. I recently returned to the tennis ranch and conference center for another art class.

I asked two people (separately) about the sign. I first asked if they played tennis. (I didn’t see any reason asking someone who didn’t play tennis.) They both said yes.

The first person I asked explained that players were supposed to use the foot bath when coming from a clay court to a hard court. I asked her if people were really supposed to clean their feet — the sign says “Foot Bath” — or were they supposed to clean the bottom of their shoes. She laughed, said it was the bottom of their shoes.

Sure, sure.

I decided to ask different person the next day. He said all players were supposed to clean their shoes before entering the court. I mentioned that the foot bath didn’t look used. Did anyone actually use it? He said No, not really. I also asked him if the intent was to clean the bottom of someone’s feet or the bottom of their shoes. He laughed, said it was the shoes that needed to be cleaned.

Sure, sure.

I found a water fountain with a water faucet close to the foot bath. The faucet doesn’t look like it could be used to clean the bottom of anyone’s shoes; it is situated too high.

Hard to keep clean

And now you know as much as I do about the Foot Bath.