..read more

A trio of ATP summer clay events are banding together to try and reschedule during the autumn if the COVID-19 virus conditions in Europe allow. Kitzbuhel in Austria, the Hamburg 500 tournament and the Swiss alpine outing in Gstaad are hoping for the best as all try to coordinate a rescheduling with borders between the trio of German-speaking nations due to re-open by June 15. Gstaad and Hamburg in July and Kitzbuhel in early August  are ..read more

The COVID-19 halt to tennis may spell the end of Novak Djokovic’s dream of topping the all-time table for Grand Slam titles, according to recently retired Mikhail Youzhny. The Russian who hung up his racquet at the end of 2018, now coaches Canadian Denis Shapovalov. The former player believes that the current tennis hiatus due to the worldwide health crisis might stall any further Djokovicsuccess for good. The world No. 1 Serb trails Roger Federer’s ..read more

The lure of face-saving television rights payments may be enough to produce a fan-free French Open this autumn as officials try to dance around various COVID-19 complications, , Federation boss Bernard Giudicelli dropped a big hint at the weekend to the Journal du Dimanche, with the French clay classic going even farther in its own direction after unilaterally shifting tournament dates from May-June to September without warning. “We haven’t ruled out any option,” Giudicelli said. “There is ..read more

Davis Cup organiser Gerard Pique has admitted this year’s event may not go ahead as Europe battles to control the Covid-19 pandemic. Soccer star Pique’s company Kosmos has made a massive financial investment in the new format – thought to be as much as $3 billion, but he said today he was “pessimistic” about the chances of the event talking place later this year. “There is a lot of uncertainty, we try to be aware ..read more

After coming out against possible mandatory vaccination for ATP players once the COVID-19 pandemic is under control, Novak Djokovic is taking fire for his controversial belief that spirituality can overcome polluted drinking water. The 17-time Grand Slam winner and world No.1 who has for years been gluten-free is also a frequenter of a local Thai Buddhist temple during Wimbledon and has said he meditates under a favourite tree in Melbourne’s vast Botanical Gardens during the Australian Open. The ..read more

The Covid-19 pandemic has given hope that Roger Federer will extend his career after recovering from knee surgery earlier this year. And tennis legend Boris Becker believes Federer and Serena Williams will be able to extend their careers due to the loss of tennis this year. “If the year is lost then I don’t think it’s bad for Federer or Serena,” the former World number 1 told UK Sky Sports. “They haven’t really abused their ..read more

All options are on the table for January’s Australian Open as the COVID-19 crisis continues to envelop the world. Melbourne Grand Slam boss Craig Tiley on Sunday spelled out the various possibilities for the  2021 edition after extensive war-gaming by tournament officials. Ideally, the event would be played as scheduled, with the question of audiences a major sticking point. With Australia and neighboring New Zealand on the way to tamping down infections to practically nil, one ..read more

Roger Federer’s foundation is keeping up the good works as the founder sits out the tennis lockdown, with the organisation donating 1 million USD to aid African children during the COVID-19 crisis. The Swiss-based philanthropic body, funded by the 20-time Grand Slam champion, has directed the monies towards food for starving school kids. “COVID-19 is a global health and economic crisis. As a humanitarian response, the Roger Federer Foundation has granted one million USD to ..read more

Stan Wawrinka believes that staging the US Open sometime in the autumn is the key to reviving tennis during the COVID-19 crisis period. The three-time Grand Slam winner, who is self-isolating at home in Switzerland, told Tennismasters.com of his concerns about an ATP season which has been shut down since early March and is not due to possibly restart until July 13 – a day after the now-cancelled Wimbledon final. “I hope for the world that ..read more