Ano one who doubted that tennis was in a state of suspended animation was surely misfit by the idea after the 2020 calendar was reduced to bone over the past week or so – with more interventions to come.
The lesser proliferation of small tournaments and courageous experiments in reinventing game formats on the sidelines of the main action gave the illusion of a slow recovery after the blockade that hit in March and is said to end in August. We are very far from normal.
At this time of year, the main British contenders would check the flight details and hotel reservations for New York in preparation for the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the longest sporting season.
Instead of preparing for the US Open, however, Andy Murray, Johanna Konta, Dan Evans, Kyle Edmund and the others are heading to the National Tennis Center in Roehampton this week for a second team edition of the Battle of the Brits, a well – intentional domestic event born from the need and the lack of alternatives.
None of the European contenders expect to spend the end of summer in America. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will almost certainly not be there, preferring to focus on the familiar clay of Europe; neither Ashleigh Barty or Simona Halep will lose sleep over the prospect of jet lag. Indeed, the Billie Jean King Center, home of American tennis and the US Open – already designated to be fan-free – could echo the absence of all the best players in the game.
There are two competing factors, neither of the two partners for life: money and integrity. Canceling the US Open would cost the United States Tennis Association about $ 120 million in television rights worldwide without insurance. But if it goes on, the winners will likely come from a significantly reduced pool.
On Friday, there was a glimmer of hope when the U.S. National Security Department demolished the quarantine for golfers, tennis players and some other athletes from China and Europe entering the country. No such guarantee has yet been guaranteed for when they return home. And this remains a problem.
USTA has until the end of the week to confirm that the tournament will begin on August 31, but the odds are getting shorter by the day, acutely since the entire Asian male and female swing was abandoned. last week after a prolonged and misplaced optimism. On Friday, there was a glimmer of hope when the U.S. National Security Department demolished the quarantine for golfers, tennis players and some other athletes from China and Europe entering the country. No such guarantee has yet been guaranteed for when they return home. And this remains a problem. Even the French Open, rescheduled in a disorderly way at the height of mid-summer of the pandemic for a slot in late September, is not sure.
The falling dice started to fall badly Tuesday, when the Citi Open in Washington was canceled; that was Murray’s destination for a warm up of the US Open. Tournament president Mark Ein said: “There are only 23 days left before the tournament starts, there are too many unresolved external problems, including various restrictions on international travel and worrying health and safety trends.”
Optimism continued to dominate in the London ATP offices. A couple of hours later they proclaimed: “This decision has no impact on the US Open or Western & Southern [on the same site, from 22 August]”. In the middle of Thursday night, however, a sick wind blew from the east when ATP released a 2:00 am bulletin confirming “the cancellation of the swing of the 2020 Chinese tournament … in continuous response to the pandemic Covid-19 “.
The WTA added its downward statement a few minutes later and the women’s game was stripped of seven major tournaments in China, including the WTA finals in Shenzhen in November. It was an overwhelming financial hammer. Of the 62 events sitting painfully on the male and female game lists between now and Christmas, only a handful has a chance to happen.
During the ATP Tour, 12 have been suspended and 18 are still on sale, of which two, the United States and the French Open, have yet to announce a cash prize. This is not a good sign, especially with fans hoping to join Roland Garros. Realistically, only Kitzbühel and Rome have a good chance of opening their doors in time, although Madrid, scheduled for the week after the US Open, is again under a cloud after a second outbreak of viruses in Spain.
In the WTA Tour, there are 32 tournaments listed for the rest of 2020. Nineteen have already been canceled, seven of which are marked with an asterisk to be decided, most optimistically a minor event in Limoges on December 14th. Merry Christmas.
Last week was particularly grim, with a warning ringing the bell that normalcy isn’t even a few months away. This will create a gloomy autumn mood. Nobody is immune. The ITF decided several weeks ago that the Davis Cup Finals that had already survived in Madrid were not viable. And what about the ATP World Tour finals, due to the London offer goodbye in November after a decade of extraordinary wealth and profile? Even that cash cow could be grazed.
Thereafter, tennis can only cross their fingers, whatever positive noise the tournament organizers will make more and more anxious in the coming weeks. Entering Australia, for example, requires a 14-day quarantine for Australians returning home; which probably won’t change before January and will not encourage players like Dan Evans to travel around the world with the possibility of reaching the second round of the Australian Open after spending two weeks in a hotel room that costs $ A3,000.
Players are confused and increasingly suspicious of half promises. If there is one thing that a professional athlete wants as much as a payday, it is the solid guarantee that it is worth showing up for work.
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