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N. Zealand brings Southern Hemisphere’s first tournament since lockdown

By Brandon Daniels

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 21: Cameron Norrie of Great Britain plays a backhand during his Men's Singles first round match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France on day two of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 21, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 21: Cameron Norrie of Great Britain plays a backhand during his Men's Singles first round match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France on day two of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 21, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
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New Zealand Tennis has announced the Southern Hemisphere’s first tournament since the lockdown. Here are the details and if it’s a good step forward.

The Southern Hemisphere’s first tennis event since the coronavirus lockdown has been confirmed. New Zealand has officially announced that a 3-team, 24-player event set to begin June 3rd. This is a large step forward for the tennis season returning as many countries are slowly returning to a post-coronavirus form.

The tournament will take place over three weeks in a round-robin format with a “Finals” format to finish, much like the other confirmed tournaments so far in the (RE)Open 2020.

All of the matches will be broadcasted live on Sky Sports and on their YouTube channel. Tennis NZ director Christophe Lambert said the tournament would look for ATP veterans to face off against some of New Zealand’s rising stars.

"“The NZ Premier League offers opportunities for our best players to have a home-base competitive environment so they are ready to jump back in when the pro circuit starts again,” he said."

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No players apart from a couple have been confirmed for the event. It’ll be interesting to see which foreign players will be taking part, as New Zealand doesn’t have a player inside of the Top 500. Marcus Daniell is the highest-ranking player on their Davis Cup roster with a doubles ranking of 49. Native players taking part in this tournament will be rising stars and college athletes.

Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie, the current World #77, and New Zealand-born Japanese  Ben McLachlan are the two confirmed foreign players so far.

All tennis tours, from the Challenger Tour and the ITF to the ATP and WTA, have been hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus. As these exhibition tournaments continue, it brings the sport closer to a potential 2020 return.

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