Now it's video game, set and match

Madrid tourney swaps real action for virtual event

MADRID－The likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal could be set to face each other online after the canceled Madrid Open announced it will run a virtual competition later this month.

Professional players will compete in the Tennis World Tour video game to raise money for those struggling in the sport and people affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The clay-court tournament on Monday announced its plan to go virtual, saying it will involve "the world's biggest tennis stars squaring off from their own homes".

There will be 150,000 euros (about $160,000) in prize money each for the men's and women's events, with the winners deciding how much they want to donate to tennis players who are having a hard time financially without any tournaments to enter.

An additional 50,000 euros will be given to reduce the social impact of the pandemic.

Soccer's La Liga also organized a FIFA 20 e-sports tournament online last month, which raised more than a million euros and was won by Real Madrid midfielder Marco Asensio, after each club picked a player to represent it.

The Madrid Open said on Monday it would run an online competition over four days, from April 27 to 30, and the "organization will soon announce the list of participants".

There will be 16 singles players in both the men's and women's draws, divided into four groups. A series of "exhibition matches" will also be arranged between players and "content creators", to raise additional funds.

"We have organized a tournament for the professional players that is as true to the conventional Mutua Madrid Open as possible, without them having to leave their homes," said tournament director Feliciano Lopez.

"And its goal is not just to entertain; we want to do our bit during this period, which is so difficult for everyone".

The Madrid Open was supposed to be played May 1-10, but the entire European clay circuit was abandoned by the ATP and WTA. Both tours are suspended until at least July 13.

Wimbledon was canceled entirely for 2020, while the French Open has been postponed from May until September.

Contingency plans

Meanwhile, the men's and women's professional tennis tours are examining contingency plans for post-coronavirus rescheduling, including the possibility of pushing back the end of the 2020 season.

The heads of the WTA and ATP said on Monday their groups are working together on ways to devise a new calendar. A number of proposals are under consideration, including moving postponed tournaments into weeks that already have events and making the season longer than it already is by playing past the tours' originally slated November finishes.

The provisional resumption date of July 13 is the day after Wimbledon was supposed to end. The All England Club announced last week it was canceling the oldest Grand Slam tournament for the first time since it was shelved from 1940-45 during World War II.

WTA chairman Steve Simon said in a statement emailed to AP that the women's tour "is diligently working with our tournaments to maximize earning possibilities when the professional tennis circuit is able to resume and is considering an extension to the current 44-week season to enable more tournaments to take place".

The tours have been periodically telling tournaments, players and the public how long the suspension will last. Another update is expected by the middle of May.

ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said the men's tour ideally would like to finish the season on time in November if competition can resume in July.

But he also said: "Nothing is ruled out at this stage."

"We are currently assessing a number of revised calendars based on different return dates for the tour, with the aim of rescheduling as many tournaments as possible," Gaudenzi said in a statement emailed to AP.

"We are liaising closely with the other governing bodies with the common goal of trying to salvage as much of the season as possible," he said, "once it is safe for the tour to resume."

Tennis finds itself in a somewhat unique position because of the international travel required of athletes from week to week, the players' status as independent contractors and the lack of one overarching governing body.

While superstars such as Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer and Serena Williams have earned millions upon millions over the years－more from sponsorships than prize money－lower-ranked players depend on playing regularly in tournaments for their income.