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By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday April 8, 2020

 
Roland Garros

TN's Chris Oddo writes about how the Coronavirus pandemic has only reinforced his appreciation for the pageantry and history of tennis.

Photo Source: Chris Oddo's iPhone

Today, April 8, tennis celebrates a grim but necessary anniversary. It has been exactly one month since Indian Wells was called off and while the news was tough for some to come to grips with at the time (people were there, the site was built out and buzzing and the lines of communication were not quite clear), in retrospect the decision was necessary to save lives, not just for tennis and the tennis community but for the cities and counties surrounding the Indian Wells Tennis Garden as a whole. And in this day and age of global interconnectedness, we know of the effect that one infected traveler—a super spreader if you will—can have on this whole horrible situation.

Tennis Express

Even with the cancellation of Indian Wells and all other US-based professional tennis (and sports, and theatre, and concerts, and pretty much EVERYTHING!) the Coronavirus has managed to tear through the United States, where the count now stands at over 400,000 confirmed cases and 13,000 deaths. Worldwide we are rapidly approaching 1.5 million cases and have reached 85,000 deaths.

The images we have been seeing of Italy in despair were at once heartbreaking (the hospitals) and uplifting (the people singing their hearts out from balconies). And Italy is just one of too many countries where the public health is being challenged severely. There is heartbreak and strife everywhere.

Before I even mention tennis again (I may get there I may not) I want to reach out to our readers and wish them well, because if this pandemic has taught us anything it is that tennis is secondary when it comes to public health. As New York’s governor Andrew Cuomo stated yesterday: these deaths, they are not numbers, they are people, each and every one of them.

Beyond reaching out to all of you individually I’d like to take time to personally thank any of you who are toiling on the front lines of the fight. As I hole away in a shelter-in-place in California I can say without hesitation that the true heroes are out there. Doctors, nurses, health care workers and in general anyone who is putting him or herself in harm’s way to help alleviate the suffering and improve the health of others. That means you grocery store clerks, taxi drivers, Amazon packers and shippers, bus drivers. Your courage does not go unnoticed, nor is it unappreciated.

And, of course, a thought goes out to all who are struggling financially. We are working with a skeleton economy on a global scale—though it is painfully clear that some are affected far more than others.

Notice I still haven’t mentioned tennis, but rest assured that I will. It’s just that it doesn’t seem all that important right now. There will a come a time, and with it a way, for the sport to make its return, and when that time comes we will all rejoice together. It will be a beautiful moment, that’s for sure.

But with all bets off until at least July 13 (Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since WWII), and everything on the calendar after that in serious doubt as the globe works together to confront what many commonly refer to as a “war,” we must recognize the fact that what we are facing is bigger than tennis, bigger than sport, bigger than commerce.

The world is in crisis mode and we all have a role to play in helping things get better. So be patient and be kind and if you really miss the tennis cue up your favorite Grand Slam final and make a night of it.

Lucky Letcord Podcast

Ok, to the tennis…

Over the weekend I got a notification on my phone that the US Men’s Clay Court in Houston was *supposed to be* happening this week. I had set it on the calendar because I had some work scheduled around the tournament. It reminded me of just how far we have distanced ourselves from live tennis. On a typical year during early spring the tennis world is generally so flush with excitement and anticipation, with the Sunshine Double in the books and the clay season—finally—getting underway both in the US and in Europe.

Indian Wells and Miami are spectacular events—tennis’ March madness has always been a worthwhile pilgrimage but over the last decade the constant improvements made at Indian Wells, from the event itself to the collective network of broadcasters that carve it up, reshape it and send it back out to the world, have made that event a true connoiseur's delight. These days you can get live streams of practice courts—how awesome is that?

Furthermore, the last two WTA singles winners at the BNP Paribas have gone on to win the US Open, which is quite remarkable when you think about it. It’s hard to even imagine Naomi Osaka stumbling through that first victory speech, or what Bianca Andreescu did to blow our minds in 2019, as we ride this pandemic out today. Personally I was really looking forward to seeing more fresh storylines develop, as those two tournaments (shout out to Miami and the new venue) always set the table for the clay season so brilliantly.

I don’t know about you guys, but early April for me is the best time to be a tennis fan because so much of the season is still in front of us. I’m a glass half-full hope springs eternal guy, and as spring blooms across the northern hemisphere I always get super stoked as we start to handicap the Road to Roland Garros.

This year we would have been watching Novak Djokovic, perhaps still undefeated, for clues as to whether he may be in good enough form to make a push at dethroning Rafael Nadal in Paris. Of course, Dominic Thiem keeps pushing his way into the conversation, and if any of you can remember as far back as January you’ll recall that he has taken another step closer to becoming a Grand Slam champion… We’d be watching that too, along with all the other storylines that would be developing. Would Andreescu finally hit the court again? How about GarbiƱe Muguruza and her follow up to what was an eye-opening Aussie Open? The list goes on, and with each title won or back-to-back Top 10 wins achieved we’d wonder if this was going to be the year for … Tsitsipas? Osaka? Rublev? Rybakina? …

The Road to Roland Garros is such a fascinating time. Tennis fans get to sample the best of Europe. The traditions, the tastes, the sights, the tennis and the destinations are all truly sublime. Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Stuttgart, Madrid, Rome, and let’s not forget the smaller stops like Estoril, Munich, Geneva, Charleston that highlight the character of the tour.

Tennis Express

There’s also the comfort of knowing that even when clay season ends there will be more to see on the grass, a three-week trek across Europe that highlights the sport’s ties to the past, all leading to London and running smack into the tennis Mecca of Wimbledon and the cathedral known as Centre Court—a place like no other.

It gives me chills, just thinking about it. It is comforting to remember some of some of the friends I have made along the way. I met tennis historian Steve Flink at my first Wimbledon four years ago. He told me then that he had been there every year for over four decades. I have never seen this man lack enthusiasm for the sport or downgrade the importance of a moment. He’s one of myriad. My desk at Wimbledon is next to Mert Ertunga’s. As I gradually came to know Mert I began to realize that he wasn’t your typical tennis journalist. Mert was Turkey’s Davis Cup captain back in the day and he’s also been a coach on tour. Beyond that he’s just a great human, with more passion for the sport than you could ever imagine. I could go on—endlessly. There's also Ros Satar of Britwatch Sports who provides an idyllic crash pad in London during Wimbledon (and is a standout podcast host/co-host).

Tennis writers aren’t exactly global celebrities (ha!) and that is their charm in my opinion. There is a lot of the live-for tennis, die-for-tennis mindset in your typical pressroom, men and women who have dedicated decades of their lives to living and chasing the dream. I have been blown away by the work ethic I have seen when I have had the privilege to travel to events.

You fall in love with things, like the swell of a rowdy Suzanne Lenglen crowd, when all the energy of Roland Garros focuses on a mano e mano spectacle. The buzz in the crowd as the clay canvas absorbs the spray of the light and the beads of sweat into its aura. The mornings at Wimbledon when the grounds are dead quiet and the gardeners are out in force, tending to the flowering fauna that collectively makes its impression on the world through its unyielding attention to detail.

This takes me to the realization that I’ve been having recently about tennis and my relationship with it during the time of Coronavirus. This pandemic has been downright evil, just plain drudgery and so much sadness, but I have found myself a silver lining in those dark clouds. Coronavirus, like it or not, has given me the chance to take a step back and ponder my role in this world. Over the past decade I have been fortunate enough to carve out a little slice of the tennis life, and before the pandemic I was blindly operating under the belief that IT WAS NOT ENOUGH. Rather than appreciating the rare opportunity to witness first-hand the history of the sport and then to chronicle it, I was far too often peering around the corner and looking out for the next big thing. Asking: HOW COULD IT BE EVEN BETTER?

This work stoppage, however harmful on a macro level (Quel horreur), has produced one liberating realization for me: the passion for tennis must remain front and center; the rest will take care of itself. As we shelter-in-place in our corners of the globe and turn to social media for our tennis fix—Roger Federer playing against a wall? Grigor Dimitrov flashing his abs? Kristie Ahn and her TikTok addiction? A book club with Andrea Petkovic?—I wonder if we aren’t all alike? Maybe all of us together are realizing that however much we thought we loved tennis, we love it even more than that.

Maybe all of us are realizing, now that we are stripped of our daily routines and compulsions, that we took some of the privileges we’ve been enjoying for granted?

If that’s the case, or if this hasn’t occurred to you at all, you’ll have three more months to deliberate. That’s the cold, hard truth right now, and even after July 13 it’s hard to imagine the WTA and ATP Tours picking up where they left off. First off, this virus isn’t going away. If social distancing helps every nation flatten the curve, it would be a tremendous thing, but it does not mean we are out of the woods if and when it does. There will be trepidation. There will be a right way to bring the world back up to speed and a wrong way.

In America, we have to fully comprehend the mistakes that have taken us to where we are. Slow to plan, slow to react—and even dismissive—the United States simply can’t afford to ramp up its economy without a pragmatic, systematic and forward-thinking gameplan.

And if we are talking about tennis in July for the North American hard courts we’ll have to be considering doing it without the fans or with the aid of high-tech tracking, testing and surveillance at the very least.

Truth be told. Nobody even knows right now. All we have his hope…

Before I go off into several thousand tangents, I’ll cut myself off and just say this. We all want to get back to life as it was. But the harsh reality here is that it’s simply not safe to do so.

Already the Australian Open is talking about contingency plans and the possibility of playing the 2021 Aussie Open without fans. What does that say about the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in late July, or the Citi Open?

As sad as the Coronavirus pandemic has been for all players, it is even sadder for a notable few. Serena Williams and Roger Federer will likely be 39 by the time they play again. Venus Williams will be 40. The Bryan Brothers were supposed to be making a victory lap around the globe in their last professional season. Carla Suarez Navarro was going to player her last Madrid Open next month—will she come back next year? And what will come of Kim Clijsters' comeback?

And of course, spare a thought for players outside the Top 50 and down, who have little income saved and no chance to make any money until the sport resumes. Currently the sport of tennis is facing a reckoning like so many other industries. The fact of the matter is that anybody outside the Top 100 is in a world of hurt financially in the best of times. Now that we’re in the worst of times it would behoove the tours to set up a fund for the sake of these players who toil away in obscurity and help the tennis engine move forward. If we can’t do something for the less fortunate in our sport, what does it say about tennis as a whole?

Just as we are forced to ponder our paths in life during this downtime, tennis itself should take the time to ponder the future of the sport. Whether the pandemic hit or not we were always going to be at a crossroads with the Big 3 aging out of the sport, as well as the Williams sisters. There is big money in tennis, but like in society, too much of it goes to the one percent and very little of it trickles down to the have nots. There is a concerted push by the voices of the game to change this, but the structure of the sports’ governance seems to be the barrier at which the conversation refracts into shattered hopes and pieces of ideas that never get picked up and followed through upon.

Lastly, there is the need to move forward in economies that will be far less potent than they were months ago. Traveling to tennis tournaments is a luxury that not many unemployed can enjoy, to put it harshly. The world collectively will be tightening its belt, and that will bleed into prize money, sponsorships, merchandise, budgets and on down the line.

So maybe now is a good time to plan a reconfiguration, or at the very least start to plan one. Because the alternative is waiting for entities to become obsolete, and that’s not a good one. Now is maybe the time for the Davis Cup and the ATP Cup to have a conversation (and somebody please include the Hopman Cup?). Now is a good time for the ATP and WTA to get on the same page, or at least get in the same book?

These are big questions that need to be answered by people in big suits. Let’s hope they are pondering the next steps for our sport and that when the time comes, we can all get hit in the face by our profound love for this game in a way that hurts so good it makes us cry.

Until then, stay safe and keep dreaming big!

 

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