WTA President Micky Lawler on the Difficult Road for Pro Tennis in the coming months

WTA President Mickey Lawler says it is impossible to make a guess about whether the professional tennis circuit will resume in 2020.

Currently, all professional tennis tournaments till 12th July have been suspended and the decision on events after those dates will be made in the coming weeks.

Speaking to the Dutch media outlet AD.nl, Lawler, who worked with Octagon prior to joining the WTA Tour, says, "Your guess is worth as much as mine. We don't have it in our hands. It is the governments in all individual countries that are concerned with what is and is not allowed. And take the US: there you have the federal government, the states and the cities. Every week there is a lot of news and we look at what we can work with. We have thirty scenarios in the closet and if we can go again tomorrow, we are ready. But it is so complicated to make decisions now. It is also waiting for the US Open. The other tournaments will also reflect their decision there."

Lawler says that the global nature and travel aspects of tennis make it difficult for the sport to resume in such a scenario. "The ATP and WTA are in the same boat. Players come from all countries of the world, tournaments are played everywhere. A sport with a fixed group of athletes or that mainly takes place on one continent is more transparent. Many obstacles lurk with us, such as an unfair situation. Imagine that the tournaments in Asia can continue in September and October, but the twenty players from the United States cannot travel yet. Or that one Italian cannot. Are you saying sorry to those from a country with closed borders? In principle you shouldn't want to do that. ''

On the subject of having tournaments without spectators, Lawler says, "Some sponsors may say: it is not responsible for us to invite customers. Or: we do not participate if there are no fans, we do not want to see that product on TV. And apart from that: the corona figures are slowly moving in the right direction in some parts of the world. But no one knows what happens when the lockdowns are relaxed. Maybe everything will close again if the situation worsens. We deal with all these matters as long as there is no vaccine or medicine. The puzzle has so many pieces."

Lawler says she prefers not to worry for now and make the best of the situation for now. "Worry is not productive, that's my mentality. We have to make do with the situation as it is and make the most of it. But I do think the sport should slow down, because the financial consequences will be huge. Since the WTA was established in 1973, we have climbed Mount Everest. We will now have to return to the center of the mountain. And then climb up again."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2WYknBp