The radical plan to bring tennis back amid coronavirus

Serena Williams’ coach is at the forefront of a move to get players back on court sooner rather than later

Plans are in place to get tennis back on our screens (Getty Images)

Tennis could become one of the first sports to return to action with Serena Williams’ coach at the forefront of a plan to get players back on court.

Like many others the sport came to a complete halt in March as lockdown measures all over the world ramped up with all professional events currently suspended until July 13 at the earliest.

The Ultimate Tennis Showdown league will take place at Patrick Mouratoglou’s academy located on the French Riviera.

France has banned all mass gatherings until at least early July but Mouratoglou insists all social distancing requirements and health protocols will be followed to the letter to ensure the safety of players, coaches and staff on site.

The plan is for ten matches to be played each weekend for five weeks with each live streamed online with scope for interaction between players and viewers.

“The UTS is simply meant to be an alternative to what already exists,” Mouratoglou said. “It is a platform created to showcase the incredible talent, athleticism and personalities of the wide range of tennis players.

“It offers a new and innovative approach, targeting a younger tennis audience and proposes a different way to distribute the money among the players.

“The UTS defines itself as a player-centric league, and therefore features a system focusing on the redistribution of income among the players. This system could be particularly beneficial for lower-ranked players.”

The tennis schedule has been gutted with the next Grand Slam slated to be the US Open in late August.

The French Open has controversially been shifted from its usual early summer slot to follow it a week later in September with Wimbledon cancelled altogether for the first time since World War 2.

Tennis players are technically self-employed and as such are free to do as they wish with the ATP on board as long as the usual anti-corruption measures are adhered to.

“We understand that some privately organised exhibition matches may start to take place where and when local government restrictions allow, and these are attractive opportunities for our players to play some competitive matches and earn some income,” they said.

“We also remind players of the need to prioritize health and safety and to follow any applicable governmental and health agency guidelines at this time as well as the applicable provisions of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).”

World No 10 David Goffin and 103^rd-ranked Alexei Popyrin, the son of co-founder Alex, will kick things off on May 16.