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Every year, thousands of spectators attend the US Open. But it’s not the first time At billy Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens, but like other sports, this weekend’s men’s and women’s finals have no audience. Michael Dawse, CEO of the American Tennis Association, joins Hari Sreenivasan in discussing how the pandemic has affected the sport.
Hari Sreenivasan:
Every year, the U. S. Open Tennis Tournament is the only time the world’s most internationally held. But it’s not the first time It attracts thousands of spectators to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens. But this year, as with many other sporting events, there will be no enthusiasts in the stands when men and women’s finals take position this weekend.
I recently spoke to Michael Dowse, executive director of the US Tennis Association. About this year’s tournament and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the expansion of the sport.
In the pandemic, are there more people playing tennis?
Michael Dowse:
Yes, Hari, tennis is one of the sports that comes out of a pandemic more powerful than ever. We know last year, according to studies and market data, that about 6% of the population has been playing tennis since spring 2019. Know that this year, just over 10% of the population is playing tennis.
So everyone thinks tennis is perfect, providing a social activity that everyone has missed in recent months. Physical activity is also intellectually stimulating and most importantly, it’s a lot of fun to play tennis.
Hari Sreenivasan:
So what happens, I guess, to the tennis business? I mean, we’re leaving the US Open here, that he doesn’t have anyone in the stands. I mean, it has to have an effect on your income.
Michael Dowse:
yes, there are some elements to this kind of tennis economy.
Specifically for the USTA, it’s difficult. Our turnover, or net operating profit, will fall by 80% this year without the door enthusiasts or revenue from our sponsors that we generate here on the site. But having said that, you know, we were lucky. We still have reservations. that we can almost adjust to last year’s overall compensation and, more importantly, we can continue to finance, promote and expand the sport. And we’ve contributed over $50 million this year to this base initiative.
Hari Sreenivasan:
How do the players adapt? Is it that a player plays in an empty stadium?
Michael Dowse:
It’s a genuine mix, Hari.
Honestly, I think some of the players are suffering without the enthusiasts, while others have been able to concentrate and concentrate more, so it was actually a combined bag.
And, frankly, it all comes down to whether they win or lose, to their comments and emotions about it.
Hari Sreenivasan:
What kind of precautions did you take and how did it work?
Michael Dowse:
The precautions have been amazing. I was looking for some numbers today. We have been in this controlled environment for just under 4 weeks. We had over 12,000 controls and didn’t test positive at the US Open. We had some positives before the US Open.
In fact, a statistic that left me hallucinated, we do fitness checks. We have performed over 49,000 temperature controls over the more than 30 days. So, again, as a precaution, we’re launching as much as possible through those fitness controls, tests, etc.
Hari Sreenivasan:
What do you think the key is? Because it turns out that for the NBA or NHL, it’s keeping everyone in a bubble.
Michael Dowse:
Basically, that’s what we have, we call it a confined environment, our environment is a bit another NBA in which we have players from more than 60 countries, so we couldn’t isolate them for two weeks before they compete. That’s where we worked hard with New York State and our medical experts to design a check formula that would capture a positive check right away and allow us to isolate it and prevent any kind of escape and woodstroke in two days. there, it works great.
Hari Sreenivasan:
Michael, it’s wonderful to see some of the best tennis players win tournament after tournament, in some tactics it gets a little boring and you have to see who’s coming. This Open, as it happened, we’re really seeing new talent.
Michael Dowse:
It’s exciting. Before the men’s semi-finals, none of them have had a Grand Slam in the past. We’ll have a new Grand Slam champion coming out of this tournament.
On the women’s side, we also saw several new players participate in the semi-finals. So it’s an exciting time for tennis and many new players, sort of a guard conversion, along the way.
Hari Sreenivasan:
So how can we make tennis more accessible, that we can locate talents that are now 10 years old and who have not seen tennis as an opportunity or an option for him?
Michael Dowse:
yes, we call it player progression. In the end, the most productive player progression is getting more players. We have a million new players betting on our game or a million new kids betting our game. And see that many more Americans are competing at the highest level.
But our project is mostly to publicize and expand the game, and that’s what we do constantly. We have 17 chapters in the United States that adapt to diverse populations to attract, interact, and retain other new people in our game.
Hari Sreenivasan:
All right, Michael Dowse, thank you very much.
Michael Dowse:
Thank you. Hari.
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