Because the current situation with a life in the “bubble” between hotel and tennis facility will continue for some time for players. In September, Craig Tiley, the tournament boss of the Australian Open scheduled for January 18th, spoke of a two-week quarantine. The latest plan now stipulates that the active should travel to Australia in early December.
Vienna’s tournament boss Herwig Straka, who has also had an important say on the ATP Tour Board of Directors for two years, is also worried about the future. “The tour itself has no problem now. I doubt whether there are individual tournaments that can withstand a second year. Especially with the smaller ones. “
It could be tight for some players as well. “If that lasts for half a year, it can definitely threaten the existence of a player: Not for the top ten or top 20, but from 50 on there will be one or the other who may not be able to continue his career,” he said 54-year-old Styrian from APA.
Tournament schedule for 2021 still open
The rest of the ATP calendar is only fixed for the rest of the year: only the ATP finals in London that begin on Sunday are staged. But what’s next in 2021, will there be, for example, the ATP Cup, which will be held in various Australian cities? “We are constantly discussing on the board and have set the deadline by the end of October so that we know what will take place in January and February.” Straka is particularly concerned about the events in Argentina and Brazil. “South America is not a secret, you just have to see what’s going on there.” A replacement program can only be created after a definitive rejection.
However, according to Straka, the ATP has succeeded in getting the players to appear. For example with the new Cologne tournament, which was held twice in a row. This form of double event could catch on.
Something similar happened with the Ohio 1000 tournament, which was moved from Cincinnati to New York just before the US Open. You only had to create the “safety bubble” once, and it then served its purpose for two major tournaments. “Such a double makes sense and has its advantages. It cannot be ruled out that this will become a model if it takes longer, ”said Straka.
Significant loss of prize money
Although some tournaments have been and are being played, the financial loss to players is considerable. After all, at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, for example, one million euros less in prize money was paid out. The overall cut is also intended to help tournament organizers who are missing out on viewing revenue. The new division in turn helps the first or second round losers to make ends meet.
