Crowd welcomed to tennis matches in West Virginia
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, West Virginia—tennys Sandgren celebrated a game-clinching point in pandemicappropriate fashion, retrieving the ball himself in the absence of ball kids, and exchanging an awkward fist-to-elbow bump with a teammate as the World Teamtennis (WTT) season started before mask-wearing fans on Sunday.
WTT’S nine teams have come together at The Greenbrier resort for their three-week season. Matches normally are played at various sites around the country but everyone was brought to one location because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sandgren, for one, was happy to be at The Greenbrier, and not just for the tennis.
“You know what it’s been like the last four months,” he said. “You’ve been sitting in your house the whole damn time. I get to do it in a beautiful setting now. It’s fantastic. There’s lots of stuff to do.”
For Sandgren, that includes playing golf and hanging out at the pool.
“It’s been pretty chill,” he said.
Tennis became one of the few professional sports to welcome fans back so far during the pandemic. An indoor bull riding event was held Friday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as well as a weekend Indycar doubleheader with limited spectators at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
“It was awesome to have some people out there to get behind the tennis,” Sandgren said. “It made hitting good shots a little more fun.”
Last month, top-ranked Novak Djokovic played in a series of exhibition matches he organized in Serbia and Croatia with fans in the stands and zero social distancing amid the pandemic. He later announced that both he and his wife had tested positive for the virus and apologized for contributing to its spread.
The WTT season started just as confirmed coronavirus cases were soaring nationally. In West Virginia alone, positive cases have doubled in the past month, including dozens of cases and three deaths linked to a church not far from the resort.
There were strict measures in place at the matches to ensure health and safety. Anyone who wasn’t a competing athlete wore a mask inside the tennis stadium and fans had their temperatures checked prior to entering. Staggered rows of seats were covered to allow for social distancing.
Up to 500 spectators are being allowed at each of the outdoor matches at the 2,500-seat court, although there were far fewer than 500 in attendance at the opening match. If rain forces play indoors, the maximum capacity will be reduced to 100 fans and 50 staffers.
On the court, the chair umpire was helped by electronic line calling instead of line judges. There were no ball kids. The athletes chased down loose balls and tossed them to the serving player. When matches ended, opponents touched tennis rackets—no high-fives or handshakes.
DAP
UBLIN, Ohio—collin Morikawa figured his tournament was over if he didn’t make a five-foot par putt on the 15th hole at Muirfield Village.
He couldn’t have imagined all the fun was just starting.
Still three shots behind Justin Thomas with three holes to play, Morikawa made only one birdie and it was enough for a six-under 66 to force a playoff.
The three times he played the 18th hole, he twice could only watch as Thomas had 10-foot putts for the win.
The other time, Morikawa had to make a 25-foot putt to keep playing.
The only dull moment Sunday at the Workday Charity Open was the end, when Morikawa took two putts for par from just inside 10 feet to beat Thomas on the third playoff hole and win for the second time in his career.
“Amazing,” Morikawa said when asked how he would sum up the day to someone who only