Roger Federer of Switzerland (L) shakes hands and talks with Mardy Fish of the US at the end of their group B singles match in the round robin stage on day five of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London on November 24, 2011. Federer won 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. AFP PHOTO / GLYN KIRK (Photo credit should read GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Due to the pandemic, hosting public events has become impossible, as lockdown measures have been enforced by authorities in an effort to contain the virus.
Among those industries, worst-affected has been the sports business, with nearly all sports coming to a halt due to social distancing guideline. Hosting events and matches with fans attending is out of the question for the moment, though some sports have been limping back, running matches with rigorous testing and strict isolation protocols.
Soccer is the best example of this, with Germany’s Bundesliga resuming this month, with the leagues in Italy, Spain and England all set to restart within the upcoming few weeks.
Not all sports have managed to try it, so while golfing will return imminently and Formula One will stage races, tennis events appear to be off-limits for the time being.
Organizers are attempting to bring some activity in the middle of the outbreak even to enthusiasts, and there might be a solution that permits tennis lovers to have the ability to see players in action from the safety of their homes.
Professional Sports Group, which is a sports technology and data firm, has partnered with Topnotch Management (TNM), the major tennis agency which represents many ATP and WTA athletes, to establish the Grand Slam Tennis Tours MatchPlay 120 series.
This championship, which will comprise players rated from the ATP and WTA rankings in the top 300, will have 120 matches held over six weeks in the USA. A few of the names who will participate include WTA Tour title-winner Lauren Davis, Australian Open quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren and ATP Tour title-winner Stevie Johnson.
There’ll be automatic production systems and an AI-powered camera on the courts, reducing the amount of individuals necessary to a minimal for every single game and so minimizing the demand for camera crews.
Professional Sports Group are also hosting live betting markets on such games to improve the user experience, along with high-quality streams supplied to sportsbook operators in order to increase the audience for the tournament. Demand for entertainment has been rising as people are stuck inside their houses, and one example of an industry which is doing well to capture this business is the casino market.
A rising number of individuals have been logging on to play online casino games, due to the lack of physical venues which have had to shut down to comply with lockdown steps, and the success of these services could cause a permanent shift in the way in which the gambling industry delivers its solutions.
TNM will take care of the operational element, running the numerous courts and venues which will be necessary for the games, whilst Genius Sports Group will work on providing the games to clients through live streams, interactive Match Centers, programs, live scores, leaderboards and many more features.
This is another step towards moving online in the current scenario, with more and more sports moving down this course to give content to their fans in this difficult time.
A good experience with this platform could make sure that such events could be held on a regular basis in the future, making it a regular part of sporting calendars and not just a temporary situation.
We might observe a similar shift in live sports also, particularly if fans cannot be permitted in stadiums and arenas for a protracted time period, and events in this manner will be significant in demonstrating if going online and conducting remote events and competitions is the way forward for sports globally to thrive and survive during this pandemic.
