WASHINGTON, March 31, 2020 (by Michael Dickens)
The International Olympic Committee has confirmed new dates for the Tokyo Olympic Games. They will be contested beginning July 23, 2021 and continue until August 8. The Games were postponed for a year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement that was published on its official website on Monday, the IOC said: “These new dates give the health authorities and all involved in the organization of the Games the maximum time to deal with the constantly changing landscape and the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The new dates, exactly one year after those originally planned for 2020 (Olympic Games July 24-August 9 and Paralympic Games August 25-September 6), also have the added benefit that any disruption that the postponement will cause to the international sports calendar can be kept to a minimum, in the interests of the athletes and the IFs (International Federations).
“Additionally, they will provide sufficient time to finish the qualification process.”
IOC, IPC, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and Tokyo Metropolitan Government announce new dates for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 https://t.co/QITtT5dcl8 pic.twitter.com/DHi4u74ZXa
— Olympics (@Olympics) March 30, 2020
According to Tennis Channel commentator Ted Robinson, some athletes “will have lost a year to Father Time – think Venus (Williams), Serena (Williams), Roger (Federer) in tennis – while others will have gained a valuable year of maturation, and some of the ‘sports in the Olympics’ (basketball, golf, tennis) will encounter adjusting their schedules to allow participation.
“The enormity of a global pandemic is being felt by tennis, the most global professional sport. The path to free travel for all from so many countries seems far away,” Robinson told Tennis TourTalk.
How will the summer 2021 calendar look?
Based on the new Tokyo 2020 dates – and assuming sports has returned to normalcy by this time next year – the Olympic tennis tournament likely would take place July 24-August 1. It would start nearly two weeks after the completion of Wimbledon.
With the Olympics date of July 23-Aug 8 for 2021 now confirmed, here’s how the big events in the summer of tennis should look next year. No promises
Wimbledon June 28 to July 11
Olympic tennis July 24-Aug 1
Canadian Open Aug 9-15
Cincinnati Aug 16-22
US Open Aug 30-Sep 12— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) March 30, 2020
Taking #TennisAtHome to a new extreme
A widely-seen #TennisAtHome video – with nearly 200,000 likes on his Twitter page – of Roger Federer practicing his hitting alone at home in Switzerland against a wall made the rounds of social media on Monday. The 38-year-old Swiss maestro tweeted his video with the comment: “Making sure I still know how to hit trick shots.”
What’s remarkable is not that Federer almost effortlessly hit a 15-shot rally that lasted 22 seconds, which included forehands, backhands, behind-the-back shots and tweeners, but that he was doing it outdoors with light flurries falling from the sky! Always conscious of his branding, Federer dressed for the occasion in a variety of Uniqlo-endorsed togs – sweatpants, sweatshirt and down vest accented with a stylish stocking cap – while wearing a pair of Swiss-engineered On Cloudswift kicks, which he also endorses. Talk about staying sharp – and looking sharp – all while social distancing, too.
Making sure I still remember how to hit trick shots #TennisAtHome pic.twitter.com/DKDKQTaluY
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) March 30, 2020
What they’re tweeting
Jamie Murray, Great Britain, ranked No. 26 in doubles
Shopping 2020.#stayhome #Covid_19 #Social_Distancing #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/jv7vOxscuq
— Jamie Murray (@jamie_murray) March 30, 2020
Billie Jean King, 76, who won 39 Grand Slam (11 singles, 16 doubles, 12 mixed doubles) titles during her Hall of Fame career
The arts will get us through this. How I love my piano.
What have you been doing to stay busy at home? pic.twitter.com/4XaAy6tuFH
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) March 29, 2020
Fabio Fognini, Italy, ranked No. 11 in singles
Getting creative 🎾🧺🤹🏼♂️💕#tennislife#stayathome#iorestoacasa#distantimauniti pic.twitter.com/hbJEAh39OE
— Fabio Fognini (@fabiofogna) March 29, 2020
Elise Mertens, Belgium, ranked No. 23 in singles and No. 5 in doubles
When I was younger I used to play against the wall a lot of times , before practice, after school hours, …15-20 years later I still hit against the same wall. Still have the same passion since then 😊 #wta #tennis #sport pic.twitter.com/mGIGuO3Ofs
— Elise Mertens (@elise_mertens) March 30, 2020
