The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has sent almost the entire world into lockdown. To make things worse, by doing so it has robbed people of live sports. Almost every sport all across the globe was suspended, some of them still hoping to continue their seasons interrupted by the spread of the disease and others calling it a quits hoping the next one will be better.
The U.S. Open venue in New York is now a hospital
The venue traditionally hosting the U.S. Open in Queens, New York (the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center) now has a completely different role: it serves as a 470-bed field hospital. As such chances of the 2020 U.S. Open taking place when and where it was originally planned are very slim at the moment. A proposal to postpone the event until November and holding it at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Palm Springs, Calif. was floated but also dismissed by the USTA.
The 2021 Australian Open is a question mark
August of 2020 may be an overly optimistic date for tennis to return. In fact, even Australian Open organizers are preparing for the worst in 2021. According to Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley, the best-case scenario is to hold the competition with all players who can safely travel while employing all the possible isolation measures, and open the grandstands to Aussie fans only. The worst-case scenario is, of course, that Australian Open will be cancelled completely. The other two scenarios outlined by TA involve playing all the matches without the public or play it in a limited format – limited draws, no qualifying, no doubles, and with domestic fans only.
Further cancellations
The Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island and the Truist Atlanta Open in Atlanta, Georgia have been cancelled due to the ATP suspending all tournaments through July 31. The Palermo Ladies Open, scheduled for June 20, has not yet been postponed nor has the 125K tournament in Karlsruhe, Germany. Everything before those tournaments is off.
The ATP and the WTA recently announced that in mid-June hey will reveal a reshuffled schedule for the rest of the year. There are hopes that the French Open can be held in October and there is an admittedly slim but still existing chance that the U.S. Open can take place either in its normal spot on the calendar or perhaps in November. The players, in turn, are not expecting to return to the courts anytime soon. Several big names, like Rafael Nadal and Simona Halep, are already considering this year to be lost.
predictions for first tournament back?
Sad times for fans of all sports, including tennis, bur safety and health HAVE to come first…even if it means writing off the entire 2020 ATP schedule….sad but true.
When Covid 19 vaccines are widely available and can flood the huge waiting (except for Djoko and his fellow anti-vaxxers) market. Not going to see mass audiences until then.
Whether when and who will proceed with safety precautions for participants and limited or no audience, I dunno.
Ramara is right: we won’t see mass audiences until there is an effective and widely available vaccine. However, it’s easy to overestimate the likelihood of that happening. First of all, of course, it could easily be another year or two before there is any safe vaccine at all. But second, there is no guarantee that even a safe vaccine will be totally effective. It might be like the flu vaccine: it works, you should definitely get a flu shot, but it’s no guarantee against getting the flu. And Covid-19 is a lot deadlier and more dangerous than the flu. Even with a mostly effective vaccine, how many people are going to be willing to risk contracting it just to watch a live tennis match?
All that said, my guess is AO 2021 is the best bet for the next major tourney (I think 2020 is a lost cause). Australia is in pretty good shape covid-wise and I can see them opting for a domestic audience only tournament. Players would probably have to quarantine for two weeks first and there might be reduced prize money, but at least there’s a chance. If that tournament doesn’t happen, I don’t have much confidence about others in 2021.
Still strange that football will be back soon, already being played in Germany, but no tennis. I mean tennis is 1 vs 1, while football is 11 vs 11.
They could allow less spectators. Less say 15- 20% of court’s capacity to be filled only. These measures are too extreme in my opinion. What a nightmare for tennis.
not a bad point
There’s no reason in principle that they couldn’t play tennis without fans. I assume you’d need an umpire and lines callers, and they’d have to find a way around various travel restrictions (and reduced international flights). Maybe all of that is solvable.
The real question is whether it’s economically viable. I don’t know what financial support German football is getting from the state, but I can imagine it’s getting some. Being international and an individual sport, it’s harder for tennis to do this, not to mention that there’s a lot less money in it (compared to football) to begin with.
Btw, even though they’re playing football in Germany, according to a German tennis-playing friend of mine they’re not letting club players play doubles -only singles! Some of the rules make no sense…
Tennis and Golf allowed here in N.Ireland , but no football !
Im enjoying watching replays from last year as if they were live, I forget who won! Like the Coric-Federer 3rd round at Rome, classic match which Fed just managed to steal on a third set tiebreak.