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Enough is Enough – Here’s how to fix the packed 2020 tennis schedule

By Brandon Daniels

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 06: A general view of Arthur Ashe Stadium as Matteo Berrettini of Italy serves during his Men's Singles semi-final match against Rafael Nadal of Spain on day twelve of the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 06, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 06: A general view of Arthur Ashe Stadium as Matteo Berrettini of Italy serves during his Men's Singles semi-final match against Rafael Nadal of Spain on day twelve of the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 06, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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View of the central court during an exhibition match ahead of the Roland Garros 2015 French Tennis Open in Paris on May 23, 2015. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)
View of the central court during an exhibition match ahead of the Roland Garros 2015 French Tennis Open in Paris on May 23, 2015. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images) /

Option #2: Move Rome and Roland Garros a week

This idea could also be a simple solution, theoretically. Since August 10th is only two days away, it isn’t likely for the ATP and the USTA to force players to the United States in two days. Instead, the two major clay-court tournaments can be moved back a week and change in order to give players enough time to get out of quarantine and prepare for the clay swing.

"August 20th-27th: Western & Southen Open (New York) August 31st-September 13th: US Open (New York) September 8th-13th: ATP 250 Generali Open (Kitzbuhel) September 14th/15th: *14-day quaratine begins for finalists* September 30th-4th: ATP Masters 1000 Rome (Rome) September 4th-October 18th: Roland Garros (Paris)"

The only problem that comes up in this instance ties into why Roland Garros moved its tournament where it is currently. Roland Garros has never had lights on its courts and only started building them (and a roof on Phillipe-Chatrier) last year. While the construction was expected to be done for this year’s tournament, they decided that they wouldn’t be scheduling night session matches until 2021.

This means that the tournament will be operating under much less daylight, therefore giving them less time in the day to schedule matches. It’s an important logistical reason for keeping the tournament where it is now. The end of September gets around 12-12.5 hours of light per day, in comparison to only 10-10.5 during the second half of October (a stark comparison to just around 16 hours in late May and early June).

Moving the event any further into October will jeopardize tournament play; every minute counts and losing hours out of the day will push the tournament an extra few days.

Final thoughts

While these proposed changes seem simple enough, it’s highly unlikely that any scheduling fixes will take place. Players will instead fight for an athlete exemption to the 14-day quarantine or make the difficult decision to skip one of the two Grand Slam events.

The next week is going to be huge for the ATP and WTA. There could be a radical shift in the entry field for both events and quite possibly a full cancellation. It’s up to the players to decide what their best interests are in order for the next two months to take shape.

Next. W&S Open qualifiers, headliners announced. dark

The Western & Southern Open is scheduled to begin August 20th in New York, where the ATP will be having their first event of the restart.

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