The CEO Of The International Tennis Hall of Fame has called for this year’s tennis season to be officially cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Todd Martin, who peaked at a ranking high of fourth in the world during his career, believes such a decision would pave the way for a ‘clearer path’ in regards to the immediate future of the sport. All professional tennis tournaments have been suspended since March due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Tour’s have a resume date of July 13th, but the suspension is expected to be extended in the coming weeks. As a result of the crises, Wimbledon have already been cancelled for the first time since 1945.
Speaking with Tennis365, Martin argues that scrapping the remainder of this year’s calendar would be the easiest option for both organizers and fans. However, both the ATP and WTA are not giving up on their hopes of restarting the sport. Furthermore, lower ranked players will be eager to return to action earlier than later in order to start earning again. Unlike team sports, tennis players have no contract as such and therefore don’t earn money during breaks. Unless they have alternative sources of income such as endorsements.
“Clarity comes from making a decisive decision that allows you to stand still. Once you make that decisive decision, you start to see a clearer path,” Martin told Tennis365.
“The easiest decisive decision we can make right now is to abandon 2020 and, to a point that is probably the right thing to do, but only because it gives the clarity to make all the important decisions and lay the groundwork for the future of the sport.
“Our sport has taken on tremendous amounts of water and we have to think about what does that means for the future.”
Words – Adam Addicott
Full story & Images – https://www.ubitennis.net/2020/05/scrapping-2020-season-right-thing-says-two-time-grand-slam-finalist/
