MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian Open and all the regular interstate leadup tournaments for the season’s first tennis major will be staged in Melbourne in January in a bid to minimize risks for players traveling and quarantining during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tennis Australia will transfer the tournaments from Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart to Melbourne, where a quarantine and practice hub and a bio-secure playing hub will be set up for the sport’s elite players. Australia’s international borders are restricted, and there is still differing domestic traveling restrictions between states.
Tennis Australia said logistics, including draw sizes and scheduling, were being worked through for the weeks ahead of the Australian Open, which is due to start Jan. 18. Mark Handley, who is the ATP Cup general manager and tournament director for the Brisbane International, said the decision to move all Australia’s tournaments to a secure hub was done to provide some certainty for the players and allow them enough time to prepare for the Australian Open.
https://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/POST-news-e1555388843470.png152200Rob Muirhttps://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/manly-lawn-tennis-club-logo.pngRob Muir2020-11-21 08:42:242020-11-21 08:42:25TENNIS AUSTRALIA TO RELOCATE SUMMER TOURNAMENTS TO VICTORIA
Tennis – French Open – Galeries Lafayette Rooftop, Paris, France – Spain’s Rafael Nadal poses with the trophy after winning the French Open yesterday REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
With the tennis season almost ending, World No. 2 Rafael Nadal will play at the Paris Masters 2020, followed by the year-end ATP World Tour Finals. Last year, Nadal withdrew from Paris Masters ahead of his semifinal clash because of an abdominal injury.
Injuries have been no stranger to Nadal. His career has been plagued with serious knee problems, which have forced him to take long breaks from the tour on multiple occasions. Recently, during an interview, Angel Ruiz Cotorro, doctor of the Spanish Tennis Federation and of Rafael Nadal, mentioned that Nadal can prolong his career if his body copes well physically and doesn’t get injured too often.
Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – Spain’s Rafael Nadal in action during his semi final match against Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman REUTERS/Charles PlatiauPIN IT
“I think that as long as the body supports him, he has enthusiasm and works every day as he is doing, because every time he plays better tennis, because we really have Rafa left for a few years. It depends on many situations, if the injuries respect him, but physically he is now very well,” said the doctor.
Cotorro says Rafael Nadal is the strongest mentally
Ruiz Cotorro believes that Nadal’s recent win over Novak Djokovic in the French Open final was a testament to Spaniard’s mentality. Nadal clinched a record 13th Roland Garros title and equaled Roger Federer‘s record of winning 20 Grand Slam championships.
Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – Spain’s Rafael Nadal reacts during the final against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic REUTERS/Christian HartmannPIN IT
The doctor acknowledged that Uncle Toni’s guidance and intense training over these years has helped Nadal in becoming one of the best competitors of the sport.
“Currently, he is a player who has all these acquired routines; I think he is the mentally strongest of all the tennis players on the circuit and possibly in the history of tennis,”said Cotorro
Today’s announcement means that players aged 90 and over will be able to compete exclusively against one another at events which offer the new category in 2021 – rather than playing against players in their mid-80s, with players in their 90s currently competing in the 85-and-over age categories.
In 2021, a total of 81 registered players on the ITF Seniors Tour will be aged 90 or over (compared to 51 players in 2020). This number is forecast to further grow in the years to come.
The ITF Seniors Tour features more than 500 tournaments a year, played in over 70 nations across six continents. The events range from tournaments held at small clubs attended mainly by local players to the ITF World Championships, which see hundreds of players travel from all over the world. The Seniors Tour is characterised not only by the high level of competition, but also by a warm and welcoming atmosphere, which sustains friendships made through tennis over many years.
Among the highlights of the seniors calendar are undoubtedly the Team and Individual World Championships, and it was with great regret that the ITF was forced to cancel these events in 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Next year, the ITF Super Seniors World Championships, due to be held in Mallorca, Spain, will feature a 90-and-over category in the individual championships for the first time.
Today’s news will be well-received by the likes of Leonid Stanislavskyi, a 96-year-old player from Ukraine, who will now no longer have to compete against players aged a decade younger – although Stanislavskyi, a formidable character, has more than held his own against younger opposition at events he has contested in the last few years.
“Tennis is a wonderful sport that allows you to play at any age, it gives you physical training that you can enjoy and it can extend your life,” Stanislavskyi said at the ITF Super Seniors World Championships last year. “Tennis for me is a gift I can’t live without. Tennis is life.”
Matt Byford, Manager of Juniors and Seniors Tennis at the ITF, said: “We have been thrilled to see more and more players competing in the 85-and-over age category each year, many of whom are now aged over 90. Offering this new age category will help provide more appropriate competitive opportunities for players in their 90s, and we hope it will encourage and motivate more players to continue playing throughout the 85-and-over category and play in the 90-and-over category in the future.
“Tennis is a great sport for keeping fit and healthy, as proved by the fact that there will be a global tour for tennis players in their 90s from next year. The ITF Seniors Tour allows players to combine this with competitive play, to travel to and visit new places, and to make and sustain friendships through sport.”
https://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/POST-seniors-e1555388790419.png152200Goss Editorhttps://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/manly-lawn-tennis-club-logo.pngGoss Editor2020-10-24 08:41:392020-10-24 08:41:41NEW 90-AND-OVER AGE CATEGORY TO BE INTRODUCED ON ITF SENIORS TOUR IN 2021
There are also transport and crowd plans to be assessed, with the tournament aiming to have between 25 and 50 percent spectators.
The Australian Open could still be a while away from getting government approval for its quarantine and safety protocols to hold the tournament next season.
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley, speaking to AAP a few days ago, said the organization were getting to “crunch time” for such decisions. Players and their teams would begin arriving the the country and starting their two-week quarantine in around two months.
But the plans are still being looked at by government officials in Victoria, where the Australian Open is played.
“There’s a whole lot of work to do,” said Martin Pakula, the state’s Minister for Tourism, Sport and Events, speaking to the podcast Break Point.
Like Tiley, Pakula identified quarantine requirements as the top issue. Those arriving in Australia are required to stay in a hotel room for two weeks, but the tournament is requesting an exemption to allow them to stay together in a specified location and train on court.
“They don’t want to obviously sit in the hotel room for 14 days not able to move and do exercise and practice,” he said.
But there are also questions around arrangements for warm-up events in other states. The ATP Cup is played at Perth, Brisbane and Sydney, while there are WTA tournaments in Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart.
The regular ATP and WTA events in Auckland have been cancelled, in part because of delays involving government approval.
Getty Images
If the Australian warm-up events are played, then “a lot of players will quarantine in those cities rather than having to coming through Melbourne” noted the minister, and if not, “then everyone will probably be coming to Melbourne as their first stop.”
There are also transport and crowd plans to be assessed, with the tournament aiming to have between 25 and 50 percent spectators.
“We’ve got to work on travel bubbles, we’ve got to work on the issue of crowds,” he said.
There should be “some sort of crowds,” he added.
Victoria has been under lockdown for several weeks and there are travel restrictions within the country, but these appear likely to be at least partly lifted in the next few weeks.
Even with the details still not agreed, the minister pointed to the “cultural” and “sporting” importance of the Australian Open and indicated it was a priority.
“I’m extremely confident,” he said. “I’m determined that it will happen.”
The Australian Open has informed players of the initial requirements.
https://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/POST-goss-e1555388932669.png152200Goss Editorhttps://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/manly-lawn-tennis-club-logo.pngGoss Editor2020-10-24 08:32:582020-10-24 08:33:00VICTORIA SPORT MINISTER "EXTREMELY CONFIDENT" OF 2021 AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Nadal made astonishingly quick work of them both in the French Open final, overwhelming Djokovic, the world’s No. 1 player, 6-0, 6-2, 7-5, to equal Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles.
It was quite possibly Nadal’s finest performance at Roland Garros, which sounds like a reach considering that he had already won 12 Grand Slam singles title on the same rectangle of red clay.
But there was nothing unlucky about No. 13. He was on target from the opening game, breaking Djokovic’s serve under the closed roof at the Philippe Chatrier Court. Nadal, 34 years old but still an irresistible force, ripped groundstrokes with depth and purpose, hunted down drop shots, read Djokovic’s mind and serve and kept his unforced errors to a strict minimum. He made just two in the opening set — one of those on the opening point — and 14 in the match, giving his more erratic and increasingly edgy rival little time or space to find his mojo.
Djokovic, the 2016 French Open champion, is one of only two men to beat Nadal at Roland Garros. He had defeated Nadal in their last three Grand Slam matches against each other.
The most recent of those came at the 2019 Australian Open final, where Djokovic overwhelmed Nadal, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, in what Djokovic still maintains was the finest performance of his career.
But that rout took place on a hardcourt, Djokovic’s best surface, at the major tournament he has won most often. Sunday’s payback came in Nadal’s kingdom.
https://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/POST-goss-e1555388932669.png152200NYThttps://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/manly-lawn-tennis-club-logo.pngNYT2020-10-12 08:03:292020-10-13 11:17:40Rafael Nadal Routs Novak Djokovic at French Open to Catch Roger Federer
LONDON (AP) — Former tennis star Boris Becker appeared in a London court Thursday, pleading not guilty to a string of criminal charges related to his bankruptcy case.
Becker, who was declared bankrupt in June 2017, is accused of not complying with orders to disclose financial information and hiding properties in the U.K. and Germany from his bankruptcy trustees.
The 52-year-old faces seven years in jail if convicted.
Becker stood in the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and denied 19 charges of failing to disclose money, property and debt between May and June 2017.
In this Sept. 23, 1970, photo provided the Houston Library, tennis players hold up $1 bills after signing a contract with World Tennis magazine publisher Gladys Heldman to turn pro and start the Virginia Slims tennis circuit. From left standing are: Valerie Ziegenfuss, Billie Jean King, Nancy Richey and Peaches Bartkowicz. From left seated are: Judy Tegart Dalton, Kerry Melville Reid, Rosie Casals, Gladys Heldman and Kristy Pigeon. Gladys Heldman replaced her daughter, Julie Heldman, who was injured and unable to pose for the 1970 photo. It’s the 50th anniversary of Billie Jean King and eight other women breaking away from the tennis establishment in 1970 and signing a $1 contract to form the Virginia Slims circuit. That led to the WTA Tour, which offers millions in prize money. (Bela Ugrin/Courtesy Houston Library via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Billie Jean King and eight other women of the “Original 9” are celebrating the 50th anniversary of signing $1 contracts and breaking away from the U.S. tennis establishment to form the Virginia Slims circuit in 1970. It helped launch the WTA Tour, which now offers millions in global prize money.
Promoters were offering fewer tournaments and substantially less prize money for the women. They were galvanized when former player and promoter Jack Kramer announced the Pacific Southwest Open in Los Angeles would pay $12,500 to the men’s champion and $1,500 to the women’s champion.
Frenchman Benoit Paire said on Wednesday that he was allowed to play in the Hamburg Open despite testing positive for COVID-19 because the “rules are different” in Germany.
Paire, who caused a storm at the US Open last month when he was forced to pull out of the grand slam after testing positive for COVID-19, said he returned a positive test again on his arrival in Germany but was told he was no longer contagious.
Paire played Norwegian Casper Ruud in his first round match but retired in the second set when he was down 6-4, 2-0.
“When I arrived, the test came back positive again,” Paire, who also played in the Rome Masters last week, told reporters. “I can’t take it anymore, I’m breaking.
And then I’m told, in Germany, if you are positive and have already completed the quarantine [period], they no longer test the players because even if you catch it again, you are no longer contagious.
“I said ‘thank you’ to the doctor and the tournament [organisers] for allowing me to play … In Paris, some are negative but since the coach tested positive, they cannot play. Here, in Germany, you test positive and you can still play.”
Paire added that he fears he will be withdrawn from the French Open after a doctor in France told him there was a 50 per cent chance he would test positive when he arrives in Paris.
The French Open begins on Sunday.
Reuters
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Spanish flu survivor Evelyn Schroedl is living through another pandemic. But, at age 102, she’s COVID-free and still playing tennis. Chip Reid has her story.
https://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/POST-Tennis4Life-e1555388595767.png152200Rob Muirhttps://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/manly-lawn-tennis-club-logo.pngRob Muir2020-09-24 17:22:162020-09-24 17:22:18Spanish flu survivor still plays tennis at 102
Headed by the two Steves (Netto/Wilko), winners of the grade’s best pair averages, the team led from start to finish for the entire competition.
In front of an enthusiastic, partisan home crowd, the team won last Saturday’s Final, 6 sets to 2 against Neutral Bay 4, with Netto/Wilko taking 4 sets and Howard/Milton 2 sets.
Success has many fathers, as they say. And this was very true of this team of legends, with ALL of the seven team members (Netto (c), Craig, Howard, Milton, Robbo, Rob and Wilko) making contributions throughout the 14-match competition.
Thanks must go to the many supporters including legendary friends Ken Grey, Curtis, JC, Foxy and “Magic Fingers” (aka David Stroud of Trident) cheering energetically from the sideline not only on Saturday but throughout the majority of matches — thanks guys!
Perhaps the greatest off-court contribution came from personal trainer “Magic Fingers”, who kept the Legends on court by managing various injuries, some not due to tennis, suffered during the competition –- thanks Dave!
And let’s not forget Jon Corney who not only filled in for the team when we had 4 sidelined with injury; but also produced the end of badge buffet on Saturday, whilst Milton was otherwise engaged – thanks Jon!
Pictured below are the Legends sans Magic Fingers and Jon Corney.
Manly Silverbacks 2020
Congratulations to Manly 4 Men’s Team winning Sydney Badge Grade 1.4.
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