WTA should hold a tournament in Pörtschach in August
The WTA has started looking for venues for the rest of the 2020 tennis season. The professional tour for women could stop in Pörtschach in Carinthia in August. The planning for the event is well advanced. How did the supposed coup come about?
by Lukas Zahrer
last edit: Jul 31, 2020, 07:30 am
The ATP and WTA tours have been standing still since March. Due to the corona virus pandemic, no professional tournaments have been held since then. In Palermo (Italy) women are expected to start playing again next week - despite a positive test by a player when she arrived in Sicily.
In August, the Cincinnati Combined Event, which will be held at the US Open in New York, and the traditional major tournament in Flushing Meadows are two major tournaments.
However, since the Grand Slam event will take place entirely without qualification, the world associations are looking for other ways to offer players with rankings beyond the top 100 game practice.
US Open: Financial injection for further tournaments
Even during the game-free period, the US Open donated $ 1 million to an aid fund that is intended to compensate for the lack of income for professionals. In addition, the organizers also transferred a further 6.6 million US dollars to ATP and WTA: The player organizations should decide for themselves how best to use this money. In any case, to provide "opportunities for ranking points", as it was said in June.
The sports agency Octagon then went together with the WTA in search of possible venues for professional tournaments.
Gernot Dreier, the tournament officer of the Carinthian tennis association, quickly showed willingness to organize an event in Pörtschach. With the support of Kitzbühel tournament director Alexander Antonitsch, he started discussions with those responsible.
Dreier convinced the local politicians and authorities, who are now fully behind the idea of bringing a $ 125,000 event to Lake Wörthersee. Representatives of the WTA are said to have completed a local inspection and given the green light for further preparations. The WTA itself did not want to comment on tennisnet's plans on Thursday.
WTA tournament in Pörtschach: there is a problem
The requirements, however, are not to be underestimated: As tournament organizers and his team of three loud must report the Kleine Zeitung now in the midst of the holiday season in search of 120 hotel rooms do need to be reserved for players and their coach.
"The tournament is planned from August 31st to September 6th. Almost all the houses are overcrowded. But support has been promised by the highest authorities. So I hope for a quick fix," said Dreier der Kleinen .
The courts of the Werzer Arena intended for the tournament would also have to be adapted to the WTA standards. In addition, a COVID-19 prevention concept is needed as quickly as possible.
In addition, with the appropriate admission of spectators, ticket sales would also have to start within a very short time. According to the current regulations of the Austrian government, 1,250 spectators would be allowed on the first day of the tournament, and in principle 10,000 spectators from September 1 - although clearly above the stadium capacity on the center court.
If Pörtschach cuts a good figure and actually stomps a WTA tournament out of the ground, the region around Lake Wörthersee could also be recommended for future events. Octagon currently holds a regular license for a summer clay court tournament.
US Open probably protect their own field of participants
The tournament in Pörtschach should start on the same day as the start of the US Open. As in the "Kitzbühel Passus" of the ATP, there may be a requirement for players from the top field of the WTA ranking to have to start at the US Open.
For example, if an ATP player voluntarily waives the US Open, he may not compete in the Kitz clay court tournament in early September. The Grand Slam wants to ensure a strong starting field even in times of Corona.
In addition to the ATP tournament in Kitzbühel, Pörtschach would be the second professional tennis tournament on sand in Austria. In the past, Pörtschach was the venue for WTA (1999) and ATP tournaments (2006-2008), and there was also a Davis Cup duel in the Werzer Arena from 2003 to 2006.