Collegetennisrules
Rookie
And what is the ITA doing to save programs? What is the plan Bruce?
Full list of tennis programs being wiped out due to COVID
- Thread starter Fabresque
- Start date
brucewaschuk
Rookie
What do you suggest the ITA do?
Southerncharm
Rookie
Bruce, I think you are a good guy but this response is exactly why so many college coaches, players and fans are totally fed up with the ITA. You guy's don't have a plan! Plain and simple. At the end of the day the ITA needs new leadership. For you to work at the ITA and ask a random poster what his idea is, is quite frankly embarrassing. Unfortunately for college tennis, the ITA has sat back without a plan for years now and coaches, players and fans are fed up. ITA needs sweeping change.
silentkman
Hall of Fame
it's fair question, I see him as reaching out for ideas. College tennis can't be save if nobody wants to spend money. Men's Niche sports are in deep trouble across the board. Are you willing to spend money to watch a college match? Most tennis fans don't follow college tennis. Its similar to people who want the backup quarterback in football.
jcgatennismom
Hall of Fame
@Collegetennisrules @silentkman @Southerncharm Do you guys realize the ITA only has a budget of 2.4MM and a staff of 13 to support over 3,000 coaches, 1,700 teams, 19,000 student-athletes, and 1,500 officials (I pulled this from the ITA site). They manage 3 divisions of tennis for less than half the cost of a top 20 P5 head football coach. They coordinate tournaments, rankings, offer coach training, etc. One way the ITA works to save college tennis is to encourage coaches and teams to be involved in the community. They gave awards for community work and highlighted team efforts. If a team is valuable to the local community, it is less likely to be cut. They have their own podcast and promote college tennis on other podcasts. Tim Russell has written articles in support of Olympic sports-one may have be printed in Sports Illustrated. The ITA staff are proactive and nimble unlike the Titanic of the USTA. When the ITA realized most conferences would cancel fall competition, they quickly reacted to create a fall circuit of around 150 events where unattached college players could play. They have earned the sponsorship of Oracle to run tennis events. Compared to enormous tennis $ spent elsewhere, I think the ITA is running lean and mean, getting a lot done with a small budget, and yet their staff is still taking time out to solicit input on a board like this-I am sure they spend even more time talking with junior tennis advocates. Thanks @brucewaschuk and the rest of the ITA staff for your humble hard-working ethic! CEO Tim Russell comes across as a down-to-earth passionate fan of tennis. Obviously college tennis coaches are on committees to coordinate regional events, but after going through the bureaucracy of USTA for junior tennis, ITA deserves kudos for what they do on a small budget. They are also promoting a college alumni tennis organization, events in different cities (at least pre-pandemic)-yet another way to engage alumni to keep college tennis alive. They created and funded the Tennis for America service program-like an Americicorps for tennis. They have arranged to have ESPN or Tennis Channel to film and broadcast the finals of some college events. They are trying to promote college tennis and give it more publicity.
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silentkman
Hall of Fame
Who funds the ITA? How would a team be valuable to the local community? Obviously Oracle has been huge for tennis on all levels. I wonder how much they are getting paid by ESPN and the Tennis Channel? I don't see how tennis can get out of financial situation they are in. How many non-parents attend college matches? The bottom line is that revenue needs to be generated.
jcgatennismom
Hall of Fame
I dont know who funds ITA-may be a combination of corporate sponsorships, fees for coaches memberships, fees colleges pay to participate in ITA tourneys, etc. A team could be valuable to community if they do service projects-maybe if they do tennis clinics with lower income populations or other community projects. Some P5 teams have good tennis attendance-1000+ at a promoted conference match. ITA has worked with USTA to support College Match Days at USTA campus-think those may have been televised. Before event starts, there are usually clinics for kids. Some of those have had close to 2000 attendees.
However, high attendance is the exception not the rule. You are right that tennis needs revenue. The big piece of that will probably have to be fundraising from alumni and local corporations. My point was just ITA was doing a lot with a small budget, and we cant blame them for lost programs. They can offer training to coaches to help them increase attendance, create community programs, etc. They can host podcasts with college coaches who are successful in those areas and who can give tips to other coaches. A simple thing some colleges do is they have ball girls and boys. The parents of those kids come to matches too. Those young kids look up to the players and are inspired to play college tennis themselves.
There is no easy answer. College coaches have a lot of other task to do besides fundraising. Student athletes already have to balance tennis, class, some sort of social life, and mundane tasks like laundry, groceries, etc and probably only have time to volunteer with the team once a month in the fall.
silentkman
Hall of Fame
I know the ITA is doing what it can to help college tennis but it will always be about the money. The college matches are free, so you can't generate revenue that way. I do like the idea of having ball kids at the college matches, however I think the time the matches are played would be an issue. I know they cut the length of matches to make it more TV friendly. With all these events for individuals, does the school cover the cost or is the player on their own? its been determined that it take almost one million to run a team correct? Are invitionals the way to go with four or more schools at a location? That format seems closer to a ATP or WTA event. Does anyone else have any ideas?
Completly agree with you. I see the fact that Bruce is asking here not as desperate but more as a way to connect and find solutions. The ITA shows way more enthusiasm than the USTA. The USTA with their Billion dollar budget, they are as rich as rich can get does NOTHING for college tennis. As a reference, their College Department was headed by Scott Treibly, who was a college recruiter and has been implicated in Varsity Blues. Only they know what was going on there.
Collegetennisrules
Rookie
ON IT!
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Your unconstructive and uncreative repetitive posts are diminishing any effect that could possibly help college tennis. Looking forward to your substanceless response.
Collegetennisrules
Rookie
My point is understood by many. Sorry your limited brain can't handle my posts. Bruce and the ITA are trolling a MB to get help? Really come on man?!?!?! Why does the CEO get paid so much? To do puzzles and post on social media? But again, don't worry Bruce is ON IT!
So many are rallying to your side. Your thoughtful posts are so close to going viral.
Karma Tennis
Legend
@jcgatennismom, do you think that the current College Tennis Scoring System is well suited to the Competition?
Could it be made more exciting, more spectator friendly and more appealing to those interested in the sport, if the scoring system was modified to more of a Points Based System with Set and Match Time Limits.
Are you familiar with the UTS (Ultimate Tennis Showdown) Tournaments that Mouratoglou conducted in Europe earlier in the year? Would such a format be useful in US College Tennis to rejuvenate the category?
@brucewaschuk Bruce, I imagine you guys have considered this sort of thing?
jcgatennismom
Hall of Fame
With no ads, tennis matches have already been shortened. There are teams that attract spectators with a 2-2 1/2 hr match. I looked up the UTS format which is 40-50min of play. Even with singles only taking an hour, most teams still would not have spectators. Since many players come to US to improve their game before trying to play pro tennis, they are looking for a format similar to pro tennis with the exception that pros play ads. Futures like college tennis are full 3rd set in MD with tiebreak 3rd in Qualis-colleges that play out matches after clinch usually used TB 3rd. Maybe there could be some fall exhibitions that use a short format, but I dont see using it for dual matches. It's not just the top college players that want to give Futures a try during college breaks-there are midmajor players that win matches in Future Qualis and sometimes get in MD. There is somewhat of a disconnect between what is best for player development and what the fans might want.
I think if non-tennis playing fans understood the sport and gave it a chance, they might like it. The best teams to watch are those where fans can see all 6 courts and follow game scoring. Dubs is quick and exciting, and then for the singles, unless you are watching a particular player, you look at the scoreboard and alternate watching courts for the deuce points and tiebreaks. When teams are tied 3-3 and 2 guys are battling it out on the last court, it can be very exciting. Coaches and schools are trying to make the sport more inviting, allowing cheering after points. I think coaches will attract more fans by trying to make the atmostphere fun vs changing the format. I have attended some rowdy UGA outdoor tennis matches that had a lot of fans.
Collegetennisrules
Rookie
Did you read the previous posts? Many did rally. College tennis dying and the ITA has yet to get to work. But don't worry Bruce is ON IT! And Tim is ON IT!
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CHtennis
Rookie
What are you doing to help? Trolling the ITA representative is surely the best way to help improve things /s
Karma Tennis
Legend
@jcgatennismom, Thanks for the overview. I didn't appreciate that it could get that intense. On one hand I can see that could be very appealing. But on the other hand, I prefer a Team Competition to come down to one or two Matches where the entire spectator audience is focused on and individual court. The idea of sitting in a stand staring at a scoreboard which dictates what court I should be watching seems a bit distracting.
Personally, I would rather see matches of shorter duration so there is less concurrency. A tighter scoring format like UTS keeps the audience attention, and in the case of a whitewash, it is over pretty quickly and we can move onto the next match.
Obviously, there would be logistical challenges with Match Scheduling compared to plonking 12 players on the courts at the same time. But I think EVERY match would have the potential to be more intense.
silentkman
Hall of Fame
no offense but the matches are free. How can you generated revenue? would they they pay $5 to watch matches? I just don't see how it can be saved. How can you convince an AD not to cut a sport that makes no money?
jcgatennismom
Hall of Fame
I think many dual matches do come down to 1-2 courts. There are some lines where clearly one team's player is dominating and may win quickly in straight sets. The interesting matches are the 3 setters or the tailend of 2nd sets where the player who lost in the 1st is all out fighting to force a 3rd. It's mainly at the start of matches, live spectators may go back and forth viewing courts before settling in to watch the most interesting courts. Also when there are 6 courts in a row, it is easy to watch different courts when other courts are on changeover. However, I have watched some matches on livestream, and with that you definitely cant watch all the courts-you have to flip between so you just focus on a couple close matches.
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jcgatennismom
Hall of Fame
D1 teams have to sponsor a minimum number of teams to stay D1-I think it is 14 or 16 depending on whether school is FCS or FBS for football-not sure. I realize there have been waivers on these numbers due to COVID. So an AD has to keep some male sports that make no $. So first there is football, basketball for men and women, the women's sports to offset football, maybe baseball which actually makes $ at some unis which leaves a handful of sports for men and women. The argument for tennis is the high GPA of players and successful alumni who could give back to uni. You are right that few people will pay to see tennis outside NCAA championships (there is a ticket cost for those), so the focus should be on gaining $ support from successful alumni and increasing attendance within the community. Schools like Georgia, TCU, Baylor, etc do draw crowds for tennis. If there are two sports that lose around the same amount of $, dont you think the AD would cut the one with lower attendance first all other factors the same? The argument against saving tennis is the high % of international players but I'd like to flip that argument. There are many MM D1, D2, NAIA schools that are 90-95% in-state students. We live in a global economy, and students benefit from exposure to students from other cultures and countries. Without sports, students outside STEM majors might not have any exposure to international students. In that sense, having international students on teams is a win win for both the uni, the team, and the players. Another argument for keeping male nonrevenue sports is that players are contributing to the uni bottom line as they are not getting full rides-most are paying 50%+ of costs. For the less selective colleges, sports is how they meet their admissions quota. Now for the flagships that are P5, there are waiting lists, but the majority of schools struggle to meet admissions quotas. There are some unis that are 30%+ athletes with many nonrevenue sports. The revenue is not from ticket sales but from the athletes themselves.
bobleenov1963
Hall of Fame
Let me address some of these points based soley on my experience:
1- Tennis players do NOT, at least most of them, do not have the ability to give back to the university. Even if they do, it is not that much. Alumni who give back to the university are not former tennis players. I donate money back to my alma mater OSU but my contribution is nothing compare to contribution to football and basketball.
2- That statement is not accurate. Lot of International students come to the US universities to study other things besides STEM, like finance, accounting, business administration, liberal arts. My nephew is currently at Indiana University majoring in finance and there are lot of international students in his class prior to COVID-19. Yes, there are international students in STEMS but there are a lot of more of international students outside STEM. I teach cyber security at a local university at night once a week, prior to covid, and there are so many international students outside STEM.
3- male non-revenue sports are playing 50%+ of costs but they also consume university resources that regular students do not. Therefore, they are still sucking up resources from the university. In that sense, the university is breaking even, at best.
In the era of metoo, timeup, BLM, people are questioning why universities are keeping these male sports and let them suck up university resources.
jcgatennismom
Hall of Fame
@bobleenov1963 So what is your take? Should universities only have football, basketball and baseball for men and the rest of the sports be women's sports? What do you think the minimum sports for D1 should be? Is there a value to geographic diversity? While international students top 1mm and international athletes only amount to 20K, the athletes are probably spread around more universities than the international students, and many international students are grad students. International students tend to choose unis in big cities or well-known universities, but there are international athletes at small unis in small towns which provides undergrads global exposure and cultural diversity.
If the facilities (fixed costs) are already there, how are male non revenue athletes paying most of their tuition sucking up more than their share of university resources? Tennis athletes are smart and prepared for college. A lot of university resources go to assist students who are not ready for college or to subsidize academic programs that are not fully enrolled. Cutting bloated university administration would probably save a lot more than cutting male nonrevenue sports at many universities.
If the facilities (fixed costs) are already there, how are male non revenue athletes paying most of their tuition sucking up more than their share of university resources? Tennis athletes are smart and prepared for college. A lot of university resources go to assist students who are not ready for college or to subsidize academic programs that are not fully enrolled. Cutting bloated university administration would probably save a lot more than cutting male nonrevenue sports at many universities.
silentkman
Hall of Fame
The last statement about metoo, BLM is ridiculous. You can't compare everything to your world. I think @jcgatennismom makes valid points. This strategic review for ODU (Norfolk Va) and they determine that tennis didn't cost enough to eliminate. they determine that wrestling cost twice the amount of tennis and was eliminated.
Their criteria
1. The value the sport brings to the university
2. The effect on Title IX
3. The annual cost of operation
4. The ability to compete and win C-USA championships
5. The ability to generate revenues
6. The interest of ODU constituents
7. The ability of the program to expose the ODU brand on a national level
8. The future of the sport and number of NCAA sponsored programs
9. The impact within the athletic department to support that sport
i think somebody mention to make it more regionalize to save travel costs.
I love tennis, its a great sport. would a suggested donation plan work? would making it a club sport be such a bad thing?
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It's so laughable and he keeps doing everything in the above.
Collegetennisrules
Rookie
Two more programs dropped. 55 and counting. But don't worry the ITA and Bruce are ON IT!
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Will we have a fulll and exciting season in 2021, starting in January of 2021 ?? Hoping NO delays, Stanford ready to take it all in may 2021.
Collegetennisrules
Rookie
I think I have heard you say that before......Who cares if they have no one to play soon bc programs keep getting cut.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
I know many of the smaller programs are being cut but it is temporary. As the Covid is controlled with vaccines(plueral), the money will flow again into intercollegiate athletic programs. and Tennis will come back, it is still one of the more popular athletic sports in college albeit much smaller than football or basketball.
Anyway, still even then most of the biggest D1 tennis programs have survived like most of the Pac-12 tennis programs and other big regions in east coast and ******* likewise.
Collegetennisrules
Rookie
Are you sure about that? Kansas? Colorado? ASU was lucky to come back. I think your blinded by your Stanford talk. Even they cut sports.
ccmtennis
Semi-Pro
yea this is really sad news for the Bulldogs. I know several of the players on the men’s team and they are all really talented. The issue as always is financial however to be fair at least half of the players were not even from the US. While I understand the reasons to cut them I also feel really bad for international students and they get transferred elsewhere to play but I doubt that other schools could easily absorb them
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Will all the D1 teams have a Full season coming up in 2021 ?
Karma Tennis
Legend
Only the ones that haven't wiped out their Tennis Programs.
Seriously, it is too early to tell. We know a few players here in Australia who have committed to playing D1 starting in the Autumn of 2021. At this stage, they are expecting a normal Season in 2021 / 2022.
One would hope the whole Coronavirus situation will be under control in the USA by then. The vaccine situation looks promising so things might get back to some sort of "Normal" sooner rather than later.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
I meant like January of 2021 and championships in may of 2021. Are they going to go ahead like normal ?
Karma Tennis
Legend
Why wouldn't they?
From what I can see College Level tennis is currently being played.
jcgatennismom
Hall of Fame
Also @Karma Tennis
The ITA kickoff is half the teams as normal-7 sites of 4 teams vs usual 15 sites x 4. Nat Indoors will still be 8 teams vs 16. Depending on local, state, and national restrictions, matches/events could be cancelled or postponed. Teams might be only allowed to play other conference teams. Conferences that different testing protocols wont be able to play each other. Teams with $ like Power 5 teams have a better chance of playing outside conference as they may test more than once a week and have faster tests. If one player on a team tests positive, then all matches for 2 weeks could be cancelled since teams are small (usually 8-12), and players often live together. There will be a lot more regional play compared to prior years-doubt you will see Ohio State flying to play Georgia or Texas as they have in March of prior years.
Rules could be different for teams who play and practice indoors vs outdoors. The season start could be delayed a week or more. No traditional spring break trip for teams this year-most unis are started school a week later and eliminating spring break week. Players and coaches want a spring season so they will do the best they can to make it happen within the restrictions. It seems like the ITA fall circuit was successful with hundreds or thousands of matches without COVID outbreaks. However cases are heading high, and there's the regular flu to contend with too in the winter. Hopefully all the players are getting their flu shots so matches are not cancelled for a presumed COVID case that is really the flu.
So it won't be normal-it could be close to normal for the P5 teams if there are not massive outbreaks or lockdowns. However, it will be winter, it's too cold to play outside most places in Jan and Feb-Cali and FL exempted ( rules say must average 50 degrees). Maybe temp rules can be changed this year to allow play outside at 40 degrees. However with football, supposedly players were not infected at games but at team dinners. Will be different-after a big win, players may have to take a styrofoam takeout dinner to their hotel room rather than enjoy a restaurant meal at a big table with the team and coaches. There will probably be less hotel stays, esp outside P5 where teams get up early, take the van to a match, get in another match nearby, and come back same day without night in hotel.
I hope basketball is able to be played with/or without fans. Athletic depts have enough losses without NCAA tourney spring '20 and loss in revenue for football this fall due to 25% or less spectators and fewer games. If college BB isnt played this winter, more tennis teams could be cut. I just hope Biden after his inauguration doesnt declare a 6 week lockdown which would cancel winter sports and delay spring. On their own, the Ivy League has already canceled winter sports and delayed spring sports until March.
Karma Tennis
Legend
@jcgatennismom, Thanks for the info.
Of course, the temperatures you are quoting are Fahrenheit. (We used to see some junior comp and tournies played in Australia in temperatures up to 40 Deg Celsius. But not anymore. We stop play when temp hits 35 Deg C these days. It never gets cold enough here to stop play on the basis of low temperatures unless there is heavy rain or lightning about.)
The virus is a strange beast. Here in Victoria, we've had 17 Continuous Days of Zero new cases and Zero new Deaths. This morning has brought the announcement there are no known Active cases in Victoria for the first time since early March. (Testing rates are currently around 20,000 tests per day). The Second Wave here reached a peak of 750 new Positives per day in August. We've had mandatory face covering from that time and still in effect in most situations. Victoria has a population of 6 million with about 4.5 Million in the Greater Melbourne Area.
Competition Tennis started here on the weekend and will continue with a limited Summer Season. Cricket the same. Outdoor sports like Netball have also started. However, indoor sports including Basketball will not be starting for at least a couple of weeks and when they do will be heavily controlled.
It will be interesting to see how this all proceeds over our Summer. We normally have a 6 week Break period during the Christmas period but many sports will shorten that break this Summer to make up for lost time. With respect to Tennis, the Summer period is normally the biggest Tournament Season at all levels. Many Grass court tournaments are conducted in SE Australia during this period when the Grass Courts are at their peak. However at this stage, all Tournaments that attract Australian Ranking Points have been cancelled for 2020. The Tournament Schedule for 2021 won't be released until December. (It is normally released in late October.)
Many here are calling for Tennis Australia to shift its entire Domestic Tournament System to a UTR Based System. Some of us have been calling for that to happen for three years now. It is a pity it has taken a Global Pandemic to get the Authorities here to properly consider it but we might finally get what we have been wishing for. Better late than never!
Of course, the temperatures you are quoting are Fahrenheit. (We used to see some junior comp and tournies played in Australia in temperatures up to 40 Deg Celsius. But not anymore. We stop play when temp hits 35 Deg C these days. It never gets cold enough here to stop play on the basis of low temperatures unless there is heavy rain or lightning about.)
The virus is a strange beast. Here in Victoria, we've had 17 Continuous Days of Zero new cases and Zero new Deaths. This morning has brought the announcement there are no known Active cases in Victoria for the first time since early March. (Testing rates are currently around 20,000 tests per day). The Second Wave here reached a peak of 750 new Positives per day in August. We've had mandatory face covering from that time and still in effect in most situations. Victoria has a population of 6 million with about 4.5 Million in the Greater Melbourne Area.
Competition Tennis started here on the weekend and will continue with a limited Summer Season. Cricket the same. Outdoor sports like Netball have also started. However, indoor sports including Basketball will not be starting for at least a couple of weeks and when they do will be heavily controlled.
It will be interesting to see how this all proceeds over our Summer. We normally have a 6 week Break period during the Christmas period but many sports will shorten that break this Summer to make up for lost time. With respect to Tennis, the Summer period is normally the biggest Tournament Season at all levels. Many Grass court tournaments are conducted in SE Australia during this period when the Grass Courts are at their peak. However at this stage, all Tournaments that attract Australian Ranking Points have been cancelled for 2020. The Tournament Schedule for 2021 won't be released until December. (It is normally released in late October.)
Many here are calling for Tennis Australia to shift its entire Domestic Tournament System to a UTR Based System. Some of us have been calling for that to happen for three years now. It is a pity it has taken a Global Pandemic to get the Authorities here to properly consider it but we might finally get what we have been wishing for. Better late than never!
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jcgatennismom
Hall of Fame
@Karma Tennis It sounds like your part of Australia has COVID under control. What are you hearing about AO and pretourneys? The Aussies may not want players from the rest of the world to come. Maybe they will allow players to come with a strict quarantine. Are flights from outside Australia allowed to land?
You mention UTR but now ITF, US, France, UK are starting to talk about WTN (world tennis number).
You mention UTR but now ITF, US, France, UK are starting to talk about WTN (world tennis number).
Karma Tennis
Legend
@jcgatennismom, the current situation in Victoria has been hard earned after several weeks of Restrictions - I hesitate to use the word "Lockdown" - We have been free to move about for important reasons without any hindrance. We have an overnight stay home curfew in place for a few weeks but we could still leave home for a few important reasons. Most schools moved to Online Learning for a few months which some found difficult and which some thrived in. All kids are back at school now.
The latest news out of Tennis Australia - supported by local Governments. The Australian Open is scheduled to go ahead in late January. Many top players including Federer, Serena and Novak have already confirmed they plan to come and play. At this stage there will be limited numbers of the general public permitted to attend the event and tickets will be going on sale shortly.
International visitors are being permitted to enter Australia at this time. They must spend 14 Days in some form of controlled quarantine. Tennis players arriving for the AO will be subject to those conditions also. The current plan is for most players to arrive in mid December ... spend 14 days in Quarantine ... and then operate in a Hub / Bubble arrangement through January. At this stage, the plan is to run the ATP Cup for Men in early January as a lead in to the AO. There will be a WTA Tournament for the women over the same period. Both events are likely to be held at Melbourne Park in a Hub style arrangement. Tennis Australia is planning to announce the full details in the next few weeks.
In the meantime, all Junior National Championship events conducted in December (known here as the December Showdown) have been cancelled for 2020. And I do not believe there is any plans to conduct a Junior Australian Open in 2021 or any of the associated lead in events.
(Just FYI, Australia has been receiving incoming International Flights for most of this year in order to allow Australian Citizens, Permanent Residents and permitted International visitors - including people like Tom Hanks, Zac Efron, etc! - to enter the country. All have had to complete 14 Day Quarantine.)
As for UTR and WTN. Tennis Australia has announced a commitment of sorts to UTR. But if WTN takes off, being ITF based, I imagine TA might shift across to that, or permit both / either systems to be used.
I'm not fussed either way. Both UTR and WTN are superior systems for determining Player Rankings compared to the current extremely biased Australian Rankings System.
(Personally, I think the WTN System of Ranking better players with lower numbers makes more sense as it is more consistent with Seeding numbers and the traditional Player Ranking Numbers.)
TA is currently staging a local UTR Pro Series Event at Melbourne Park as we speak. You can view the current match stream on youtube.com. Weather is quite nice here this morning. (At 11am it is about 22 Degrees C, nice and sunny with a light breeze.)
The latest news out of Tennis Australia - supported by local Governments. The Australian Open is scheduled to go ahead in late January. Many top players including Federer, Serena and Novak have already confirmed they plan to come and play. At this stage there will be limited numbers of the general public permitted to attend the event and tickets will be going on sale shortly.
International visitors are being permitted to enter Australia at this time. They must spend 14 Days in some form of controlled quarantine. Tennis players arriving for the AO will be subject to those conditions also. The current plan is for most players to arrive in mid December ... spend 14 days in Quarantine ... and then operate in a Hub / Bubble arrangement through January. At this stage, the plan is to run the ATP Cup for Men in early January as a lead in to the AO. There will be a WTA Tournament for the women over the same period. Both events are likely to be held at Melbourne Park in a Hub style arrangement. Tennis Australia is planning to announce the full details in the next few weeks.
In the meantime, all Junior National Championship events conducted in December (known here as the December Showdown) have been cancelled for 2020. And I do not believe there is any plans to conduct a Junior Australian Open in 2021 or any of the associated lead in events.
(Just FYI, Australia has been receiving incoming International Flights for most of this year in order to allow Australian Citizens, Permanent Residents and permitted International visitors - including people like Tom Hanks, Zac Efron, etc! - to enter the country. All have had to complete 14 Day Quarantine.)
As for UTR and WTN. Tennis Australia has announced a commitment of sorts to UTR. But if WTN takes off, being ITF based, I imagine TA might shift across to that, or permit both / either systems to be used.
I'm not fussed either way. Both UTR and WTN are superior systems for determining Player Rankings compared to the current extremely biased Australian Rankings System.
(Personally, I think the WTN System of Ranking better players with lower numbers makes more sense as it is more consistent with Seeding numbers and the traditional Player Ranking Numbers.)
TA is currently staging a local UTR Pro Series Event at Melbourne Park as we speak. You can view the current match stream on youtube.com. Weather is quite nice here this morning. (At 11am it is about 22 Degrees C, nice and sunny with a light breeze.)
bobleenov1963
Hall of Fame
Didn’t Tom Hank and his wife, Rita Wilson, got COVID-19 while in Australi?
Karma Tennis
Legend
They were diagnosed and confirmed testing Positive to the virus in Queensland back in March. They both then developed COVID-19 and were hospitalised for several days.
(There has been speculation as to whether Tom Hanks contracted the virus here or on a short visit back to the USA in February.)
Both recovered and returned to the USA.
Tom Hanks has since returned to Australia. He did another 14 Day Quarantine prior to resuming work on a movie being filmed here. (He is playing Colonel Tom Parker in an Elvis Biopic Film)
===
It's just been announced on local Television that all AO related Tennis Tournaments / Matches planned for the upcoming Summer season (inc. ATP Cup, WTA Lead In Tournament and the AO 20201) could be staged in Victoria .. .possibly at some Regional venues but most likely at Melbourne Park.
This was expected, given the unpredictable nature of State Border closures and the potential negative impact on people crossing State borders.
However all of this is subject to State Government approval which is yet to be confirmed. Tennis Australia and the State Government of Victoria are still in discussions, which I imagine will continue for a few weeks yet.
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forehandsonly
New User
I've heard talks about a few more in the Northeast as well.
Fabresque
Legend
What do we even expect the ITA to do? They can’t just give out cash infusions to programs and save them. And it’s gonna look really pitiful if they start emailing schools around the country and tell them to save their programs. Schools do what they want, regardless of what the NCAA, ITA, might say.
Right. I fear the situation is dire at colleges and universities around the country. It not just tennis programs getting cut. There's other sports getting the ax as well. Worse yet is those college staff, athletic and non-athletic, either getting laid off or best case taking salary cuts to keep their jobs. As long as football and basketball games are held with little or not fans and the virtual environment is how classes are held contributing to enrollment drop, I fear more cuts are coming.
Fall of 2021 has to return to normal and hopefully the fallout then subsides.
bobleenov1963
Hall of Fame
That depends on whether the new vaccine is effective against the UK new strain of covid-19. Fall of 2021 will NOT be normal, to say the least. More fallout will continue. The 2008 financial crash is still being felt ten years later. Taking into account that NCAA athletes will be able to use his/her likeness to make money, it means less money will go into the University Athletic budget coffer. It will mean more sports get eliminated.
silentkman
Hall of Fame
What should an AD do with sports that are non-revenue and the team never has a chance to win? Would making it a club sport be that bad? The College Football playoffs just proves that it all about the money. I honestly don't blame the AD's.
The new strain. Laughable and predictable that would happen after the vaccine comes out. I'll just come out and say it, COVID19 is an overblown bunch of BS.
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silentkman
Hall of Fame
You are entitled to be wrong. i'll keep the rest of my comments to myself.
bobleenov1963
Hall of Fame
You should say that to people who lost their family members from covid-19. I am glad you're not in position of power to impact people lives.
Didn't say it wasn't real. Overblown similar to your reactions.
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