Ultimate Tennis Showdown delayed

BIOT, France: Rain postponed the start of the innovative Ultimate Tennis Showdown on the French Riviera on Saturday.

The UTS is an idea by Patrick Mouratoglou, who coaches Serena Williams and mentors Coco Gauff and Stefanos Tsitsipas, intended to make the sport more attractive to new audiences.

Mouratoglou says the event is revolutionary. It changes the points scoring system, uses cards for players to gain an advantage or disadvantage and will be broadcast for a fee online.

The tournament held at Frenchman Mouratoglou’s academy will be played behind closed doors across five straight weekends and has given the players nicknames.

World number three Dominic Thiem is ‘The Dominator’, while Stefanos Tsitsipas is ‘The Greek God’.

The familiar scoring system is abandoned in favour of collecting the most points in a ten-minute quarter. This format “removes the scoring and it’s deliberate,” according to Mouratoglou, who said last week the existing system “is a big problem” in attracting a young fanbase.

The ATP, which runs men’s professional tennis, is supportive but wary, telling AFP players are free to take part in “private exhibitions” but warning them “to protect their health and safety”and “to comply with the guidelines of the anti-corruption programme.”

The International Federation said its “priority” is to continue its work with the ATP, the WTA and the Grand Slam tournaments “to follow the evolution of the worldwide impact of Covid-19 and prepare the restart of the professional tours in the best possible conditions.”