FORMULA ONE FORGES THE WAY THAT TENNIS HAS NOT FOLLOWED

Formula One and tennis are different sports in many ways, but the travel component of both is something that neither can avoid, but it can be managed.

In the Covid year of 2020 F1 has opted to hold all of its races in Europe and include tracks that have never held an official Grand Prix, such as the famous Mugello circuit in Italy and Algarve International Circuit in Portugal.

It is a wise move by the sports figureheads, who have announced that the Asian and American swings of the season will not go ahead, keeping the location central with minimal kilometres to be travelled.

The organisation has also banned crowds from its events, with all drivers, media and staff to wear masks in and around the circuits to avoid the spread of Coronavirus.

It hasn’t halted the disease completely, with Mexican driver Sergio Perez testing positive and missing both British races at Silverstone, replaced by Nico Hulkenberg for Racing Point.

Things have seemed to work for Formula One however, it is strictly run and despite revenue loss the sport is persevering. Tennis on the other hand is a completely different story, travelling to two continents, one of which being North America for its showpiece event, the US Open at Flushing Meadows.

On the 13th of August New York City, the home of the Grand Slam, had 727 new cases of Covid-19, which is much less than the location F1’s most recent race in Barcelona with 7,550, but the fact that players are travelling to the USA from Europe, and then back again is bemusing to say the least.

Players will be travelling from all over the world to get to the US, some have already been in Europe for WTA events in Palermo and Prague, and have made the trip to quarantine in the New York bubble. They will then travel back to Europe for the remainder of the season.

How is this considered safe? Most of the F1 teams are based in Europe, barring Haas who are based in the USA, but the sport is sticking to its roots, and remaining in its spiritual home, so why is tennis not doing the same?

In the ATP Rankings, 67 of the world’s top 100 are from Europe, including the top twelve, whilst in the WTA rankings 62 of the top 100 are from European countries. It would make so much more sense to base both 2020 season’s in Europe, with minimal travel for players.

Yes it might be to the disadvantage of North American, Australian, Asian, South American and African representatives, but logistically from the outside it seems much easier to follow the Formula One mould.

Tennis has made some serious mistakes in 2020, most notably the infamous Adria Tour which saw the likes of Djokovic, Dimitrov, Coric, Troicki and Ivanisevic test positive for this deadly virus. So why is the sport not learning from the mistakes? Kei Nishikori has also announced that he has tested positive for Coronavirus, his official listed residence on the ATP website is Bradenton in  Florida, so why is the USTA persisting with an event that realistically should not be going ahead?

Money is the only reason that comes to mind, the USTA will lose millions in sponsorship deals and broadcasting rights, along with other sums that would leave them reeling in the long term. However there must be a better way to preserve the safety of the tennis population, because if nobody tests positive for Covid in the next four weeks, it will be a shock.

Following the F1 mould of banning crowds, limiting travel and wearing masks to prevent the spread is the most sensible option, but tennis seems to be going its own seperate way. If it works, then that’s fantastic, but if not, the tennis economy will suffer more than what it already is.

We all want tennis back, but at what cost?