can you imagine how long a match would be if Rafa has to go and retrieve his own sweat towel after every point, as he normally does?The problem of course is a) whether someone like Federer or Nadal would accept this,
Who knows when tennis tournaments will start back up again, could be done for months if not the rest of the year.
That said couldn't the powers that be organize one or more one-off head-to-head charity (or mostly charity) matches via live-broadcast or live-streamed with the following conditions?
- no fans
- players arrive via private jet with private accommodations
- the players each have one designated ball-kid/adult to retrieve the balls/towels/etc. or they do it themselves
- an umpire but no line-judges, players call the lines themselves but can always defer to hawk-eye (hawk-eye would need to be installed if the court doesn't have it)
The problem of course is a) whether someone like Federer or Nadal would accept this, and b) all the logistics including where the venue would be since every country has a pandemic now save for the most remote islands in the pacific and other oceans.
I don't think they will have much choice. I can see such a rule being created really easily now. Makes sense anyway--why should anyone handle someone's else's sweaty towels? Rafa will have to adjust or pick up a ton of time violations.can you imagine how long a match would be if Rafa has to go and retrieve his own sweat towel after every point, as he normally does?
I always found that gross. They wipe their faces in the towels and sometimes blow their noses.I don't think they will have much choice. I can see such a rule being created really easily now. Makes sense anyway--why should anyone handle someone's else's sweaty towels? Rafa will have to adjust or pick up a ton of time violations.
Well, it beats Tiger King in terms of class anyway, but it means about as much to me as, say, Vasek Pospisil's recipe for lasanga.I don't know if it really fits in here, so mods feel free to move or delete it if it doesn't.
Any interest here in the "Virtual Madrid Open" from April 27th to 30th?
16 ATP and 16 WTA players are supposed to play in this event. Some names that are confirmed so far include Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, John Isner, Lucas Pouille, Kiki Bertens, Carla Suárez Navarro, Fiona Ferro and Angelique Kerber. They will compete in the video game "Tennis World Tour". The winners in both events (men and women) will win 150,000 Euros that will then be used to support tennis players whose careers are threatened by the pandemic. Another 50,000 will go to other charities.
Well, it beats Tiger King in terms of class anyway, but it means about as much to me as, say, Vasek Pospisil's recipe for lasanga.
ATP Tennis TV has literally hundreds of old matches to screen on its various files (Replays, Rivalries; Classics; Players, and so forth); these matches are certainly helping me eased the pain cause by the lack of tennis right now. The site doesn't cover GS events or Davis Cup, but they do cover everything else on the men's side.I've seen similar things done in other sports and actually tried watching some of it in an absence of any real competitions going on, but it hasn't worked for me so far.
I may give this a shot as well, assuming it is streamed somewhere, just because I don't have anything that much better to do right now. But I don't have high expectations.
Hmm ... Lasanga, now there's an idea.