Groundbreaking for Boris Becker's Tennis Academy - joy about the return of the tour
The groundbreaking for Boris Becker's planned international tennis academy has now officially fallen. In the course of this, the three-time Wimbledon winner was also extremely pleased with the planned resumption of the tour.
by SID
last edit: Jun 18, 2020, 05:26 pm
Boris Becker was obviously having fun, with a broad grin on his face he kept throwing his spade into the ground and tossing the excavated earth into the air. On Thursday, the three-time Wimbledon winner in Hochheim am Main officially broke the groundwork for the International Tennis Academy named after him. By the fall of next year, the 22 million euro facility will be on the 48,000 square meter site, which in addition to 40 tennis courts will also include a hotel with 110 rooms and a Becker museum.
"It's a small miracle that we are here today despite the pandemic," said Becker. The project did not "wobble", said the 52-year-old, "but there was no planning security".
The excavators should already start rolling on Thursday afternoon, as investor Khaled Ezzedine said. Becker spoke of a "good tennis week" - not only because of his academy, which received the official building permit right before the groundbreaking ceremony, but also because of the imminent end of the Corona compulsory break on the professional tour.
Becker is delighted to host the US Open
"I am very happy that international tennis is starting again," said Becker, adding: "Many players urgently need the prize money. Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and some women certainly do not, but I have had many phone calls with players in the past few weeks who asked me: "Do I have to find another job? Should I go back to school?" That was really worrying. "
In August, the professional tour starts again after a compulsory break of around five months, and two Grand Slam tournaments are scheduled to be held by the end of the year: First, the US Open from August 31 to September 13, two weeks after the final in Flushing Meadows Roland Garros tournament in Paris. Becker even hopes "that the French Open will be held in front of spectators".
However, Becker did not share the criticism of some star players about the strict hygiene and security measures for the US Open in New York, for example of his former protégé Novak Djokovic. "If Andrew Cuomo (governor of New York) puts these rules in place, they will be correct."