Amelie Mauresmo with little hope for Tennis 2020 - Boris Becker is against it
AmelieMauresmofaces the current situation with little optimism through COVID-19 , does not believe that the tour will continue this year. Boris Becker, on the other hand, disagrees.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Apr 04, 2020, 08:07 am
The current situation around COVID-19 is one thing above all: uncertain. The organizers of those tournaments, which have not yet fallen victim to the currently rampant virus, always speak in statements of a "rapidly changing situation", affirming that they will follow developments very closely. There is currently nothing more to be done, the situation is simply not in the hands of organizers of tennis tournaments. More and more countries are reacting to the increasing number of cases with restrictions on freedom of movement, major events have not been taking place for weeks.
The tournaments of the ATP and WTA tours are of course major events, attracting a large and, above all, international audience. As a result, it is not yet possible to think of an event as quickly, as Dirk Hordorff also emphasized in the conversation in the tennisnet podcast: "If we could play again in October, I would be very happy," said the Vice President of the DTB (German Tennis Federal government) at that time.
Amelie Mauresmo, current coach of Lucas Pouille, sees the situation much more pessimistically: "I think we have to draw a line under the 2020 tennis season," said the Frenchwoman on Twitter. The international circus of tennis means that players, coaches, fans and management "from all corners of the world" come together to liven up this event, said the ex-coach of Andy Murray. For them it was clear: "No vaccine = no tennis". Craig Tiley, head of Tennis Australia, is tapping the same line: "My personal view is that tennis will be tough coming back this year. It relies on global travel, and I think that's probably the last thing what will come back, " Tiley told the Sydey Morning Herald.
Boris Becker expects tour 2020 to resume
But there are also opposite opinions. In response to Wimbledon's cancellation, USTA, the organizer of the US Open, said: "At this point, USTA is still planning to host the US Open as planned. And we are continuing to work on the plans to host the tournament." Boris Becker also firmly believes that the tour will return this calendar year: "We should stop painting black ... Of course tennis will still be played this year," said the six-time Grand Slam winner via Twitter in response to the reports on Mauresmos assessments.