WTA President: “Until 2022 normality will not return”

The world of tennis suffers, As in many other areas, the harsh consequences of the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which keeps the official competition for both men and women paralyzed. Many doubt that the circuits can be resumed this year after a string of cancellations that saw its last chapter on Tuesday with the suspension of the ATP tournament in Washington. And some even believe that tennis will not be what it was in a long time. This is the case of WTA President Steve Simon, who in an interview for The National, He assures that “there will not be a return to normality until 2022”.

The head of the governing body of women's tennis, who plans to return to the official competition in Palermo (Italy) on August 3, has many doubts about what will happen in the short and medium term: “We are not in a normal period. We have to function in a world that is imperfect now, But we are trying to find some equity, opportunities despite a situation that is not ideal. There are still a lot of problems with quarantines, that will be the case until the end of the year. “

“We should know in two weeks whether we can play in China or not this year. We really hope so. For now, we don't know. I would say that the thing is 50-50 “, explains Simon, who gives his vision on how he sees the situation: “Everything is conditional, week after week, but we are trying to have the maximum amount of competition and use this year as a learning test.” The WTA president is concerned about the possible financial problems of the players due to the lack of activity and tournaments: “We have to find a way to keep moving forward while keeping everyone safe, because there will probably be no return to normal before 2022. We have to find sources of income for our players and our tournaments to survive. We don't want to lose sponsors or broadcast. “