Has Patrick Mouratoglou found an answer for tennis in lockdown?
The announcement from Patrick Mouratoglou of the launch of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown is an intriguing development from a man not afraid to push the boundaries
The Ultimate Tennis Showdown will start on the weekend of May 16th/17th and continue over 5 consecutive weekends. The format will feature multiple matches in a league format with the major the spoils going to the players. The matches will take place at the Mouratoglou Academy in the south of France and so far the confirmed players includes Fabio Fognini, David Goffin and Benoit Paire.
Obviously this new event isn’t going to replace the usual tennis tour but with live streaming and social distancing rules being applied, at least it will give tennis fans the chance to watch some live competitive tennis during these remarkable times.
Patrick Mouratoglou himself has said, “The last few weeks, I worked hard with my business partner on a way to provide the fans with their “tennis fix” whilst the tours are on pause indefinitely. Why not offer live tennis — like NEVER before? A revolutionary way to consume tennis, for more entertainment; a player-centric league, redistributing most of the income to its players; no “physical” spectators, but thousands of viewers around the world.”
The tennis will be streamed live at www.UTSLive.tv and presumably will only be able to feature players that are capable of reaching the venue near Nice by car, at least until some of the fight restrictions are lifted.
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