Billie Jean King Cup: All Means Allowed?
When it comes to real home advantage, the Czechs made an interesting choice on Friday and especially Saturday in Prague.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Apr 17, 2022, 11:24 am
At the beginning of February, the United States hosted the Honduran team in a qualifier for the World Cup in Qatar. Namely in the state of Minnesota, where it rarely gets close to zero degrees Celsius in the winter time. That evening there were even reports of minus 20 degrees, the friendly guests gave up the match with a performance-related 0:3 as desired. The USA have now qualified for Qatar, and temperatures below zero are not expected there in November.
The Billie Jean King Cup meeting between the Czech Republic and Great Britain, which the hosts won 3-2 in Prague, was reminiscent of US tactics. Because on Saturday morning in the Czech capital, only very low single-digit plus degrees were measured, not unusual for the time of year. Rather surprising, however, that the game was not scheduled in the hall, but in the open air.
Austria also froze in South Korea
And so you could see the team bosses wrapped up in blankets and thick jackets, the players liked to wear leggings and long shirts. Whether it was beneficial to the game culture remains to be seen. After all, the racket should feel good in your hand. The hosts are allowed to determine the circumstances in the big team competitions, and the Austrian men noticed that a few weeks ago in Seoul. The training jackets were only taken off in extreme emergencies because of the freezing temperatures in the hall.
From that point of view, a final tournament might not be the worst solution after all. Because the protest of a single team is more easily dismissed than a chorus of dissatisfied people who want playable conditions for everyone. Incidentally, it is not yet clear where this tournament will take place. Last year the winning team from Russia was chosen in, well, Prague.
In any case, Emma Raducanu, US Open winner of 2021, had to admit defeat to Marketa Vondrousova in the Czech cold on Saturday. But Raducanu also knows that she won't be cold in the coming week. The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart is traditionally held indoors.