Chance missed to hold biggest tournament in country
AUCKLAND: Up to eight of the world’s top10ranked women’s players were being lined up to play in Auckland's ASB Classic this summer.
Tournament director Karl Budge earlier this week reluctantly cancelled plans to stage what would have been the biggest tournament held in the country after failing to get his plans to create a tournament bubble approved.
It has been revealed Budge had secured approval from the WTA Tour to stage backtoback tour events in Auckland after the Australian Open which finishes in
Melbourne on
January 27.
The first of these would have been a
WTA premierlevel tournament with prize money of US$750,000
($NZ1.37 million), nearly three times the current amount, with the second event an international series tournament on the same level as the current ASB Classic.
The premierlevel tournament would have attracted most of the sport's leading names while the cutoff in direct acceptances was expected to be around 40 in the rankings for a 32strong draw.
The tournaments would have bridged a gap in the calendar for leading players to play one or two of the weeks straight after the Australian Open before heading to the Middle East for tour events in Dubai and Doha towards the end of February.
With a disrupted calendar due to Covid19 — there is only one more WTA tournament scheduled this year after the French Open — players are under increasing pressure from their sponsors to take every
opportunity to play.
They would have travelled from the Australian Open bubble to Auckland and, after three days in isolation in their hotel rooms, would have been released into a tournament bubble if they tested negative for Covid19.
The plan was comprehensive — players and officials would all have been housed in the same hotel where the player dining would be set up and players would only travel to the courts for practice and their matches.
There would have been no interaction with the general public. The stadium was being configured to ensure social distancing and a new stairwell from the players’ lounge directly to the court was being built.
Budge has chosen his words carefully and publicly has been reluctant to blame the Government for the ultimate failure to make it happen.
But in a question and answer to sponsors and suppliers obtained by The New Zealand
Herald, Budge was asked if the Government had been helpful.
‘‘We understand the pressures that are on Government right now to keep New Zealand safe and protect the gains that we've made. Whilst we are obviously disappointed, we have learnt to focus on the things that we have control over. This is not one of those and we now need to focus on how we can work with our supporters to come back stronger,’’ he said.
When asked ‘‘What’s your message to the Government?,’’ he said he did not have one.
‘‘Time for review and reflection will come but right now my focus on supporting my team and working with our supporters on securing our future.
‘‘Ultimately a decision has been made. A time will come to reflect and review but right now we are focused on working with those who have supported us to secure our future.’’
It had become patently clear in the past couple of weeks that Budge was becoming frustrated at the lack of communication from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Budge had submitted a comprehensive Covid19 plan more than three months ago but had received silence from officials. He warned they were fast approaching DDay but kept getting stonewalled.
In the end perhaps the requirement for players to be released into a tournamentcontrolled bubble after three days of Governmentrun managed isolation proved to be the biggest sticking point. — The
New Zealand Herald