Judy Murray OBE, a former international tennis player, Fed Cup Captain and coach to many champions including her sons Jamie and Andy.
Listen here – https://thegamechangers.libsyn.com/judy-murray
The reigning Wimbledon champion is currently the only top 10 player on the WTA Tour who is yet to formally announce her plans for the Grand Slam, which will begin in only two weeks time. This year’s tournament is taking place behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic with players being kept inside a bubble. America has recorded more than 166,000 deaths related to the virus. Upon attending, those playing will have to sign a waiver saying that they will not sue if they contract the virus. Furthermore, players who opt to stay in private accommodation are expected to pay for 24-hour security.
Shedding some light on the situation, coach Darren Cahill told Nine’s World Wide of Sports that he is yet to be given a definite decision from Halep concerning the US Open but it is doubtful. The Romanian returned to action this week at the Prague Open where she has reached the final. It is her first professional tournament since February.
“I did ask her before Prague started and her gut feeling that she wasn’t going to play (the US Open) but she wanted to play this tournament,” Cahill said on Sunday.
“It was the first one coming back from COVID restrictions and she wanted to see how she felt. It’s a short flight from Romania to Prague, but there is a big difference flying to New York.”
Full story & Image – https://www.ubitennis.net/2020/08/simona-halep-has-gut-feeling-she-will-miss-the-us-open-says-coach/
LiveScore, one of the world’s leading real-time sports updates and results providers, has announced its title sponsorship of the ‘LiveScore Cup’, with WTA World Number 3 Karolina Pliskova headlining a number of European stars as live women’s tennis returns.
Staged on clay-courts and held at the Stvanice Stadium in Prague from Wednesday 3rd until Saturday 6th June, the LiveScore Cup will follow a special round-robin format featuring former World Number 1 Pliskova alongside five leading European players, including 2019 Roland-Garros Finalist and current World Number 18 Marketa Vondrousova.
The creation of the LiveScore Cup, organised and marketed by SARAN Media Group and PR Stars and sanctioned by the Czech Tennis Federation, comes as a significant boost to tennis fans across the world who have been without live tennis since the elite season was put on hold by the COVID-19 outbreak in mid-March.
Featuring best-of-three set matches and culminating in a hotly-contested final on Saturday 6th June, the LiveScore Cup will be broadcast live on a number of European TV networks including Premier Sports in UK and Republic of Ireland, S Sport in Turkey, Setanta Sports in CIS, Sport Klub in the Balkan territories and Max Sport in Bulgaria.
Tennis fans will also be able to follow the on-court scores and statistics in real-time by using either LiveScore’s world-leading iOS and Android application or at LiveScore.com. With a global audience of more than 56 million monthly active users, which generates a monthly average of 30 million tennis related page views, LiveScore provides unparalleled coverage, content and statistics on men’s and women’s tennis, as well as for hundreds of different sporting leagues and competitions around the world.
This is LiveScore’s second sports sponsorship following the successful launch of its partnership with LaLiga Santander as ‘Official Global Scoring Partner’, and further shows its ambition to be at the forefront of sport consumption.
Ric Leask, Marketing Director at LiveScore, said;
“LiveScore is synonymous with live sports, so we are delighted to be playing a small part in the return of competitive action as title sponsor of the LiveScore Cup. This comes at a time when we are generating significant momentum across the business, and LiveScore Cup is another marker in the sand as sports fans become more familiar with our expanded offering.
Our app and LiveScore.com are already the go-to destinations for fast and reliable second-screen sports coverage to over 56 million users, but we are thrilled to be putting our head above the parapet once again and introducing LiveScore to new users as we continue to grow.”
Will Thomas, Head of Sponsorship at LiveScore,said;
“It’s been a long few months without live sport and, whilst circumstances dictate that spectators can’t be present, we are delighted that fans can watch the LiveScore Cup on TV and follow the action on LiveScore’s channels. We can’t wait for the LiveScore Cup to begin in Prague, and the chance to celebrate the skill of some of the world’s best tennis players!”
Karolina Pliskova, WTA World Number 3, said;
“I am really looking forward to the start of the LiveScore Cup, and the chance to once again compete in my country alongside some of the best players in Europe. After our enforced season break, it’s brilliant that we will have this chance to again showcase women’s tennis to fans around the world, especially on clay at a time when the French Open would have normally been taking place. I’d like to thank SARAN Media Group and PR Stars for organising such a great tournament.”
“Whilst for now we must wait for fans to return to the courtside, I and all the players are looking forward to putting on a show for all the fans following the action on TV and the LiveScore app!”
LiveScore’s title sponsorship was agreed in partnership with Saran Media Group. Two round-robin groups of three players will yield two finalists to compete in The LiveScore Cup Final on Saturday 6th June. The full line-up for The LiveScore Cup includes:
- Karolina Pliskova (WTA Rank 3)
- Marketa Vondrousova (WTA Rank 18)
- Karolina Muchova (WTA Rank 26)
- Ekaterina Alexandrova (WTA Rank 27)
- Barbora Strycova (WTA Rank 31)
- Kristyna Pliskova (WTA Rank 69)