Eugenie Bouchard was one of tennis stars who had announced her particpation in the Madrid Masters tournament will now be held virtually as the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro from April 27 to 30. (Image credits: ATP)
The Madrid Masters tournament will be held as a virtual tennis tournament
With all tennis action put on hold at least until July 13 due to the coronavirus crisis, the 2020 Mutua Madrid Masters Open will be conducted as a virtual tournament this time.
Scheduled to be held on from May 1 to 10, the Madrid Masters tournament will now be held virtually as the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro from April 27 to 30.
In a bid to keep sports alive even during the virus outbreak, the tennis authorities have now found a new way to engage players in one of the big ATP events of the calendar year.
Top stars including Rafael Nadal, David Goffin, Karen Kacahanov and John Isner have joined the ATP draw for the virtual event, which will now be played from their respective homes.
The virtual tournament will also witness WTA stars clash at the Manolo Santana Stadium, which will be recreated in exquisite detail in the Tennis World Tour video game (Nacon Gaming).
Unlike in normal conditions, the players would be seen playing with a PlayStation 4 in place of their racquets.
The tournament offers a prize money of €150,000 in both draws (ATP and WTA), from which the winners can decide how much they want to donate to tennis players, who are currently suffering economically.
The remaining €50,000 will go towards reducing the social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The virtual tournament format includes 16 singles players in each of two draws (ATP and WTA), initially divided into four groups.
The champion of each group will progress to the quarter-finals, which will also include the runner-up of each group. From there the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be played in a knock-out format.
World No.2 Rafael Nadal, who is one of the biggest names competing in the virtual event, revealed that he would give his best to try and win the tournament.
“From isolation and with the strength and encouragement we are all giving each other. I’m happy to play in Madrid’s virtual tournament. I will be trying to give my all”, said Nadal.
“I’m not sure how good I’ll be at it. I hope to be with you all and feel your support as is always the case when I play at home, this time virtually.”
Nadal is a record title winner at Madrid having emerged champion five times at the tournament.
Only 12 players have confirmed their participation, at present. The tournament officials will update information regarding the rest of the participants in the coming days.
Formula One and Football have also joined the E-sports route in recent weeks. Several top stars have taken part in E-F1 races. EA Sports is hosting the Stay and Play Cup with many Premier League clubs participating.
E-Sports is keeping the fuel going for some sports fans. However, with more stars taking up their consoles, at least there is some form of excitement going about.
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