Back on court
Kenin and Stephens to join WTT season
Kenin and Stephens to play in front of fans at mountain resort
WEST VIRGINIA: Reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens will compete in a 2020 World TeamTennis season played at a mountain resort with spectators starting July 12.
The nine-team US circuit will stage its 45th campaign at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, from July 12-Aug 2, the league announced on Tuesday.
With the WTA and ATP tours shut down into August due to the coronavirus pandemic, the move makes the WTT the first pro tennis circuit to resume play after the global outbreak of the deadly Covid-19 shut down the sport.
“All of us are extremely grateful to be able to play the 45th World TeamTennis season and present professional tennis to our sports-starved and tennis-starved audiences,” said WTT chief executive Carlos Silva.
“The overwhelming feedback from our players is that they want to play WTT and are comfortable in doing so in a safe environment, which is our No.1 priority. West Virginia has among the nation’s fewest cases of Covid-19.”
The WTT plans at least three matches a day at the resort’s 2,500-seat outdoor stadium with an indoor court to be installed as a backup option.
West Virginia health guidelines will allow up to 500 spectators, a 20% capacity, to attend the matches.
The WTT plans a 63-match regular season from July 19-30 with the semifinals August 1 and the championship match the following day.
The WTT will follow local and state government rules and adhere to safety protocals from the Centers for Disease Control, including Covid-19 testing and screening and protective gear such as facemasks.
World No.4 Kenin, a 21-year-old
American who captured her first Grand Slam title on Feb 1 at Melbourne, will play for the Philadelphia Freedoms while 37th-ranked Stephens, the 2018 French Open runner-up, will compete for the expansion Chicago Smash.
On the men’s side, Bulgaria’s 19thranked Grigor Dimitrov will play for the Orange County Breakers with doubles stars Bob and Mike Bryan on the Vegas Rollers.
DUO JOIN BALKAN TOUR
Croatians Marin Cilic and Borna Coric will join world No.1 Novak Djokovic’s tennis tournament to be played across the Balkans June 13-July 5, the Serb said on Tuesday.
Their inclusion will complete a formidable field also featuring Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov, with the first of four legs set to take place in Belgrade on June 13 and 14.
The series will then move to Croatia’s coastal resort Zadar, where 2014 US Open winner Cilic and 23-year old
Coric will take centre stage in front of their home fans.
“I thank Marin and Borna for joining the tour without asking for any financial compensation,” said Djokovic, the winner of 17 Grand Slam titles who went on an 18-0 run at the start of the season before the stoppage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The final two legs of the tour are provisionally to be held in Montenegro and Bosnia, but Djokovic revealed at Monday’s news conference in Serbia’s capital they might have to be moved if the infrastructure is not completed in time.
Djokovic returned to his hometown Belgrade on Sunday after being stranded in the Spanish resort of Marbella for two months, where he was visiting his younger brother Marko when the pandemic broke out.
All four legs of the tour will feature eight players competing in two pools of four on a round-robin basis, with the winners of each pool advancing to the final.