|
The Tennis Point series, part of the Exo Tennis
Series, featuring Dustin Brown in the eight-strong field, will
be played without fans, line judges or ballboys or handshakes,
but with live TV coverage, at the Base Tennis centre near
Koblenz.
"At Base Tennis, we asked ourselves a simple question: what can
we do today that will help serve the tennis community?" Director
Ruben Herrera said.
"We wanted to bring the joy of tennis back to peoples' lives,
and that is how the event came to be. It has grown well beyond
our initial expectations thanks to the great partners and
players that have joined in."
Each event will last four days and feature an eight-man
round-robin format with each player contesting two matches per
day. Matches will use the same format as the ATP's Next Gen
Finals in Milan with best of three short sets to four, tiebreaks
at 3-3 and 'no advantage' scoring.
Strict measures will also be in place with players sitting at
opposite sides of the net during changeovers, no handshakes at
the end, while players will have their "own space" to rest and
prepare for matches.
There will be no specific rules regarding handling the balls
Fans starved of live tennis action on TV will be able to watch
the matches via a live stream on Tennis Channel's new
Over-the-Top (OTT) platform -- Tennis Channel International or
via Tennis Channel's website http://www.tennischanneleverywhere.com.
The Series will also be featured on online betting sites with
data provided by content and intelligence firm Sportradar.
Brown, who famously beat Rafa Nadal in the second round at
Wimbledon in 2015, will be the most recognisable player taking
part although, at world number 239, he will not the
highest-ranked.
Fellow German Yannick Hanfmann has that honour at world number
143.
"With the tour being suspended for the foreseeable future, I am
happy to have the chance to compete again," Brown said.
"When the guys gave me the call, I didn't think twice. I am
looking forward to going out there doing what I love!"
Others involved include Britain's 332nd-ranked Jan Choinski and
Germany's Daniel Altmaier, ranked 219.
No details of prizemoney were initially available.
Sportradar said all players had received compliance clearance
from the ATP and the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU).
"This is a significant moment as we move to bring back live
tennis," David Lampitt, Sportradar Managing Director Sport
Partnerships, said. "We will be monitoring the event, as well as
providing remote production services to maximise safety."
The success of the event will be closely monitored by the
sport's various stakeholders as they figure out a way for the
sport to resume. Professional tennis stopped in mid-March as the
coronavirus pandemic swept the planet.
Patrick Mouratoglou's tennis academy in the south of France will
host a five-week series also starting in May.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
