Globalization hurting tennis in 2020

Normally when a sport is global such as tennis, there are an immense number of positives. The fact that the sport is extremely popular on every continent (ok, except Antarctica) should be considered a definite benefit.

There is no doubt we all want to see the French Open and the US Open in the fall. In the summer, ATP events in Germany, Sweden, the United States, Mexico, Switzerland, Croatia, Austria and Canada have not been cancelled as of yet.

Unfortunately, the globalization of tennis could actually be considered a detriment to the sport at this time. Why? Due to the fact we are facing the worst pandemic in our lifetime, getting all athletes to any part of the globe at the moment creates more problematic issues than anything.

When people arrive to any country right now, they have to self-isolate. For a sport such as tennis, where players are in a different country almost every week, that is nearly impossible.

So far, coronavirus is winning. There are 3,985, 168 total cases of this horrific pandemic in the world. Just let that number sink in. We are nearing 4 million total cases and a staggering number of 77,964 deaths.

There are efforts to get tennis back. Various exhibitions are being scheduled in men’s and women’s tennis. However, players will be wearing masks, and there will be no ball boys, ball girls or line judges to stop any chance of the disease spreading. Oh, and forget about spectators. It is highly unlikely you will see any fans in any professional stadium until we find a vaccine.

We are living in a different world. We have never had a disease like this before. Hopefully when coronavirus is finally stopped, we will never see anything like this ever again.