With the Madrid Open unable to go ahead for real in the Spanish capital, a fundraising initiative has been organised in order for the tournament to take place online.
With less than a fortnight until what would have been the Madrid Open, plenty of big names have signed up for the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro event, which instead of being scheduled for between the 1st to 10th of May as the original festival would have been held, will be broadcast online between April 27th and 30th.
Some big names are involved in the initiative, which will take place on the World Tennis Tour videogame, courtesy of Nacon Gaming in the virtually created Manolo Santana Stadium. Players will serve, volley, cross-court and smash their way through the action on PlayStation 4.
So far, 19-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal, two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, Spanish tennis legend David Goffin, Russian pro Karen Khachanov and American big-hitter John Isner have all signed up from the ATP side of the draw, with many big-name WTA stars taking part too.
“From isolation and with the strength and encouragement we are all giving each other, I’m happy to play in Madrid’s virtual tournament and, as always, I will be trying to give my all”, said the former World Number One and current global number two, Rafael Nadal. “I’m not sure how good I’ll be at it, but I hope to be with you all and feel your support as is always the case when I play at home, this time virtually”.
It’s indicative of exactly how giving Nadal is that during this time when his mind might usually have been on getting himself into peak condition to extend his record-breaking run at Roland Garros, he’s been said to care nothing at all for tennis during this time by his trainer, Uncle Tony.
Just how competitive Nadal will be is in question, as he’s not known as a lover of online Esports, but he’ll be hoping to add a virtual title to his five physical wins completed in his country’s capital city.
Another big name to take part is Sir Andy Murray, who this week paid tribute to the healthcare professionals around the world saving people’s lives.
While Murray will do his very best to win, he won’t be able to play as himself, that is unless the makers of the game hastily create an avatar version of the Scottish three-time Grand Slam winner. Murray could go retro and pick a tennis legend or might fancy playing as Kyle Edmund, the current British number one.
Spanish player David Goffin is another player taking part although, like Nadal it would seem, the Spaniard isn’t au fait with the technology to a large extent.
“I’m very excited to play this e-tournament,” said Goffin when asked by the ATP Tour about the event. “It’s the very first time for me and I’m going to give my best to win, although I’m not very used to these games! I hope you will support me and I already look forward to [meeting] you all online!”
Russian player Karen Khachanov said he was ‘looking forward to challenging my fellow players and showing my skills to the tennis fans around the world’, with American John Isner declaring his intention to practice some new skills ‘…so I won’t embarrass myself!’
With 16 make players and 16 female players taking part across four days of intense competition, €150,000 will be up for grabs, with players raising funds for the fight against Coronavirus as well as helping to support tennis players who are experiencing difficulties during the crisis.
With all professional tennis currently having been cancelled until at least 13 July 13th, there is plenty of speculation this week that the year may soon be written off in its entirety, certainly from a Grand Slam perspective. This would have a major effect on the future Grand Slam leader on the ATP, with Roger Federer (20 titles) able to hold off Nadal (currently on 19 wins) for as long as events are cancelled. Novak Djokovic, in the form of his life with 16 Grand Slam titles, may well have three less Grand Slams in which to catch the greatest of all time in his pursuit of that definition.
The format of the event is perhaps more complex than the usual Madrid Open. The 16 singles players will face off having been divided into four groups. Each group champion and runner-up will proceed to the quarter-final, whereupon the winner will be found in a more traditional knock-out format. Some of the biggest online content creators in the Esports world will take on some pros in side events designed to raise funds for those affected by Covid-19.
The dozen players who have already confirmed that they’ll be taking part are as following: Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, David Goffin, Karen Khachanov, John Isner, Lucas Pouille, Kiki Bertens, Angelique Kerber, Kristina Mladenovic, Carla Suárez, Fiona Ferro and Eugenie Bouchard.
You can get involved by using the hashtags #PlayAtHome and #MMOpen by following the Mutua Madrid Open on Twitter. Here’s how they broke the news of the exciting event:
We have exciting news! 🚨This year, the #MMOPEN cannot be played on the scheduled dates, but… it can be played online! 😌 The biggest @atptour and @WTA stars will square off from their homes in a unique competition. #PlayAtHome 🎮https://t.co/ZFUjMzaSQs pic.twitter.com/Yj90ldCeQt
— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) April 6, 2020
It may not be the Madrid Open itself, but it’s the next best thing and is sure to fill the last four days of April with some great tennis entertainment, and most importantly raise funds in the battle against COVID-19.
