Tennis: All Purpose Tennis Thread XIII

[MXD]

Well, on one hand, the New York Area seems to be getting better and is probably in a situation to protect the players, personnel and staff better than, say, the Mason area.

On the other, well, there's definitely some risks involved.

 

[MXD]

I missed that. I guess it limits travel,but really doesn't make much sense.

Actually, forget about the week break, since I'm not QUITE certain about the week break, since I've seen no dates confirmed for the W&S Open in New York.

 

[discostu]

I'm wondering what participation will be like. Unlike the negotiations going on in other sports, there's no comparable union to figure out how to adjust player compensation. I assume with no attendance,that prize money will be greatly reduced, and the risks are higher. Maybe you see high profile players pass.

That said,with so few tournaments this year,players may not be able to afford any drop in rankings.

There's a lot of questions, and it doesn't help that tennis as a sport lacks centralized decision making to sort through a lot of this.

 

[BMOK33]

I'm wondering what participation will be like. Unlike the negotiations going on in other sports, there's no comparable union to figure out how to adjust player compensation. I assume with no attendance,that prize money will be greatly reduced, and the risks are higher. Maybe you see high profile players pass.

That said,with so few tournaments this year,players may not be able to afford any drop in rankings.

There's a lot of questions, and it doesn't help that tennis as a sport lacks centralized decision making to sort through a lot of this.

I’m not sure why they couldn’t just have a limited amount of fans. It seems to be ridiculous now how far we are taking the no fans allowed thing. What do we do next spring and summer if there is no vaccine? Leagues can’t possibly afford going two years with no attendance

 

[Beau Knows]

I know Djokovic has been hinting at possibly not attending, but I can't see that actually happening.

Federer is out and Nadal will probably skip the US Open to focus on the French, leaving it wide open for Djokovic. I don't think he'll be able to pass up that opportunity.

 

[BMOK33]

I know Djokovic has been hinting at possibly not attending, but I can't see that actually happening.

Federer is out and Nadal will probably skip the US Open to focus on the French, leaving it wide open for Djokovic. I don't think he'll be able to pass up that opportunity.

I think the French being so close is a reason many will skip it. To be honest if this entire pandemic totally died and they allowed fans I’m thinking a decent amount of players wouldn’t have played both events

 

[Elvis P]

Serena Williams says she'll play in the US Open

 

[discostu]

Pretty condensed schedule. But, players will have options I guess.

Saw some tweets from players that expressed dissatisfaction with the setup around us open. One of the big safety assurances is that the players are in an effective bubble and are only supposed to travel between the hotel and facility,but people have pointed out how difficult that is to enforce. It's not the NHL or NBA wurre teams can be accountable for their players.

That said, tennis is still the lowest risk sport in terms of chance of spread. They can be a little looser with the quarantine.

 

[kihei]

Looking forward to the resumption, but I don't know if it is so much for the tennis as just to see what the brave new world of spectator sports is going to look like without spectators.

 

[MsMeow]

I wonder how many players will refuse to play because they don't want to get on a plane.

 

[discostu]

This is the charity tournament that Djokovic runs. They've had fans in stands for this event,as Serbia government was taking an aggressive approach on opening up.

I feel like this is what may be in store for US Open and the other American tournaments leading up to it.

 

[BMOK33]

This is the charity tournament that Djokovic runs. They've had fans in stands for this event,as Serbia government was taking an aggressive approach on opening up.

I feel like this is what may be in store for US Open and the other American tournaments leading up to it.

Inevitably some players will get the virus. Already one PGA golfer did. But bottom line is tennis and golf are easiest to hold. Yeah it’ll suck if a big star gets it ahead of the French or US Open but bottom line is it’s even less likely another player would have contracted it from them than say in golf

 

[Novak Djokovic]

Novak holds a tournament with absolutely zero social distancing (sure, allowed by Serbian government, but come on) and then they are partying at night in bars (as per his IG stories)... can't say I am shocked Grigor tested positive for COVID.

Tennis should be one of the safest sports to play in this environment (as long as players handle their own towels), but the above stupidity won't help.

 

[Fighter]

 

[MsMeow]

It's shocking to me how so many people, not just tennis players, are acting like Covid is gone.

Djokovic must be freaking out. Didn't he say he wouldn't get vaccinated for Covid when a vaccine was created?

 

[kihei]

Whatever the new normal ends up being, it's not going to be sympathetic toward idiots.

 

[discostu]

Another player from the exhibition series to test positive.

It sounds like everyone was taking a very lax approach for this tournament. Any future tournaments can mitigate a lot of the risks by enforcing safety protocols I'm sure, but, having two players (and at least one support staff) get infected is not going to inspire confidence for other tournaments.

 

[MsMeow]

Two players, one coach, one fitness trainer - Covid-19 outbreak at controversial Novak Djokovic event worsens

Despite the crisis, Djokovic left the scene of the outbreak without having a test and headed home because "he did not feel any symptoms"

 

[JetsWillFly4Ever]

Novak sure seems like he's an idiot when it comes to this stuff, disappointing.

 

[discostu]

Novak sure seems like he's an idiot when it comes to this stuff, disappointing.

It's really disappointing, as tennis is going to rely on players taking safety protocols seriously. It's not going to build "bubbles" like other centralized pro leagues can. If the top player isn't going to take it seriously, others won't either.

It was one of the issues raised on the US Open plan. Players are supposed to limit their activity to just the hotel or facility,but there's no one responsible for enforcing it.

 

[MsMeow]

Troicki and his wife, who is due to give birth in a few weeks, also tested positive according to Stephanie Myles.

 

[Hadoop]

Disappointing to hear this news, but not the least bit surprised given how this virus is transmitted.

I love tennis as much as anyone, but this sport should not think about returning without 1) mass testing of all personnel involved 2) proper physical distancing measures and 3) sufficient personal protective equipment where physical distance is not possible. Tennis is a wonderfully physically distanced sport (I played with a friend just last week), but ensuring these measures are in place and ensuring compliance will be extremely difficult.

 

[kihei]

I think that most sports leagues and associations are guilty of wishful thinking, believing that they can dance around the virus somehow. But it stands to reason that until Covid-19 is under control, any chance of stability or normalcy is not necessarily going to last very long.

 

[discostu]

I developed a fair bit of empathy for Djokovic over the last few years,as the guy who never has gotten the respect in the shadow of Fedal. But, he's really burning through goodwill with his decisions these last few months. Not sticking around to answer questions about this tournament when he's played host to this disaster demonstrates that maybe it's been better that he's never had the full spotlight.

 

[MsMeow]

Djokovic has also tested positive according to many twitter sources, as has his wife.