The growing Corona Virus pandemic has exploded in recent weeks with countries in lockdown, thousands dead and millions unemployed.
In the scheme of things, the impact on sport may not seem as relevant, but sport is an industry that is feeling the impact of unemployment, displacement and uncertainty as much as any other on the planet. Sport also evokes passion, emotion and builds community spirit, national pride and the belief that anything is possible. To lose sport in many ways sums up the plight we are in. We can no longer celebrate, we can no longer scream and shout with pride and passion for the achievements of others that stir up all that is great about human spirit.
But like everything else, it will be back, and when it’s back it will symbolise the defiance, and the strength of human character that helps keep us together. Just imagine the first football game you attend when this is all over, the first gold medal Australia wins whenever we are blessed to see the Olympics, or when Roger Federer miraculously wins a 21st grand slam title and slumps to the ground in jubilation. We’ll likely cherish it more than we ever have before because sport unites us, and it’s times like this we remember that more than ever before.
But knowing when to pull the trigger on a return will be one of the more difficult decisions there will be. Given all the travel restrictions, quarantines and social distancing measures, when will we know when to relaunch?
Tennis is probably the sport that faces the biggest difficulty on the world stage, along with probably golf where the travelling road show takes in so many nations and involves so many competitors. To paint a picture the ATP schedule of 2019 took in 35 different countries for the tour, and a glance shows that on the ATP tour rankings right now 41 different countries are represented in the top 150. On the WTA tour we have 34 nations represented in the top 150. Australia, North America, Europe, South America, Asia and the pacific are all heavily represented.
At what stage do we open the door to competitors from upwards of 30 different countries to arrive in one location? Train together, rub shoulders together, eat together and transit together?
Even the most optimistic of health professionals feel that a couple of months is the very best case scenario for anything settling down. “I’d say the beginning of May we’re going to feel like we’re coming out of this,” said Morgan Katz, an assistant professor of infectious disease at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “That’s my hope.”
However the majority of health experts feel that it is likely to be closer to a 6 month period of potential lockdowns and travel restrictions. Tennis is a sport built around lots of individuals with different schedules, sometimes with external help in the form of doctors, coaches and dieticians all travelling in different ways, in different time frames and staying at many different places.
Will the game have to change? Will the rules become stricter around who travels? How many? And where do we accommodate everyone for greater means of control even in the short term? We know already that the French Open organisers, somewhat controversially have moved their event back to September, scheduled for just one week after the US Open and also scheduled to overlap the Laver Cup.
What happens also with Wimbledon? Thankfully that’s the European Summer which is believed to be the least likely climate for Corona Virus to spread, however it isn’t summer everywhere in July! Will the 2020 year almost become a write off? Or will we have tournaments minus some of the world’s best players for a period of time? 2021 is now likely to be an Olympic year with the impending Tokyo postponement which plays further havoc with the schedule.
We know also the very real cost is that some players who struggle to get by are now living without an income, and some have coaches and trainers who are now out of work also. Not to mention the tournament staff, drivers, caterers etc who will be feeling the pinch. Tennis clearly has more challenges than most domestic competitions in the world, but the global popularity of the sport, and the significantly drawing power of the superstars that have defined the game for the past 10-12 years will ensure Tennis comes back strong.
When is the big question, but like most of us are realising now more than ever, sport isn’t a luxury, sport is an integral part of our life, our community and national psyche. You’ll know how much you love it when you get it back. The old saying that you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
Well it’s gone now, but we know we’ll see you soon. And it will be glorious.