Grand slams, Masters 1000 events and governing bodies from the world of tennis have vowed to continue business as usual despite the emerging threat of Covid-19 causing havoc to the calendar over the coming months.
The worldwide outbreak has claimed its biggest victim this week after the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells was cancelled on health grounds. Leaving players in limbo as to where they go next and if any more tournaments will follow suit. The decision was made after a public health emergency was declared in Coachella Valley following their first case of Covid 19. Since then, local authorities have reported at least five more cases.
“There is too great a risk, at this time, to the public health of the Riverside County area in holding a large gathering of this size,” said Dr. David Agus, Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California. “It is not in the public interest of fans, players and neighboring areas for this tournament to proceed. We all have to join together to protect the community from the coronavirus outbreak.”
Cancelling Indian Wells will not have just a major impact on the sport. It is also the local economy. The Associated Press said the economic impact of the tournament to its surrounding area topped $400 million in the latest survey conducted back in 2017. The two-week event sold 475,000 tickets in 2019.
The next tournament set to take place is the Miami Open, which has a start date of March 23rd. Although it is touch and go if it will go ahead as planned. Recently the nearby Ultra festival, which was set to get underway at the same time, was cancelled due to concerns it could be a breeding ground for the virus. Furthermore, the Florida Department of Health has issued an advisory to individuals who have travelled internationally to isolate for 14 days from their arrival back in the United States.
Nevertheless, the Miami Open has said they are ‘moving forward as scheduled’ in a statement issued on Monday. Although they state that they will continue to monitor the situation with local, state and federal officials.
Statement from the Miami Open. pic.twitter.com/kj6aDOmMwV
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 9, 2020
All options on the table
Both governing bodies of the men’s and women’s tour are hopeful that no more cancellations will happen. However, this doesn’t mean that there won’t be with the European clay swing starting next month. The Barcelona Open has postponed their tournament presentation scheduled for this week due to the outbreak. The tournament is set to get underway on April 18th.
Andrea Gaudenzi is the chairman of the ATP and a former player himself. He has stated that the calendar will remain ‘status quo’ beyond Indian Wells. Saying that ‘all options are on the table.’
“We continue to monitor the situation daily, working closely with our player and tournament members with the understanding that direction must be taken from local public health authorities. We are committed to exploring all options for the operation of upcoming tournaments as the health and safety of our players and all other stakeholders remain our top priority.” Gaudenzi said in a statement.
Steve Simon, who is the head of the WTA Tour, has stressed it is too early to speculate what will happen in the near future. Prior to Indian Wells, two women’s tournaments in the Chinese cities of Xi’an and Kunming scheduled for April have been cancelled.
“We understand the decision which has been made in the interest of public health and safety which is the top priority at this time. It is too soon to speculate about what will happen to other tournaments that follow. We will continue to closely monitor the situation. Health and safety will always come first.” Said Simon.
Over the weekend a rare joint-statement was released by the two bodies concerning Covid-19. In it, they outlined a series of ‘precautionary health measures’ that will be implemented at upcoming tournaments.
Grand Slams safe for now
At the end of May will see players flock to Paris for the next grand slam – the French Open. In figures published by authorities on March 10th, there has been more than 1200 cases of Covid-19 in the country with 30 deaths. In Paris specifically, they have already been cancellations of numerous events such as music concerns and the City’s half marathon.
However the French Tennis Federation (FFT) has insisted that the French Open will go ahead as planned. Although options being contemplated include the use of “gel and mask kits” and “cancellation of tickets for holders from affected areas.”
“We are on a 13-hectare site which allows the flow of spectators to be organised very differently from football stadiums,” FFT director general Jean-Francois Vilotte told AFP news last week.
“Even with the roof closed, Court Philippe Chatrier is an outdoor court,” he added.
As for Wimbledon in the summer, the I Newspaper has reported that the grass-court major remains ‘on’ for the moment. Although should it be cancelled, the organisers will be able to reimburse ticket holders. The British government has stated that there is currently no need to restrict sporting events.
“Wimbledon remains “on” at present, but that the iconic tennis tournament could be cancelled by government decree. In that instance, it is understood that insurance policies already in place would allow the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, who run the tournament, to refund the huge numbers of tickets that are sold in advance.” The I reports.
Since its birth in 1877, Wimbledon has been cancelled 10 times. Although that was during both the first and second world wars. In comparison the French Open has only been cancelled six times since its beginning in 1891 – five times during the first world war and once (1940) during the second.
It remains to be seen how much devastation the unpredictable covid-19 outbreak will have on the tennis calendar this summer.