USA Today - 18.03.2020

SPORTS USA TODAY ❚ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020 ❚ 5C

With the coronavirus pandemic
eliminating any possibility of major
sporting events being played this
spring, the first major shift for the tennis
calendar occurred Tuesday when the
French Open announced it is abandon-
ing its traditional start in late May.
Now, it is scheduled Sept. 20 through
Oct. 4.
The move sets up a highly intriguing
and unusual scenario in which the
French Open would begin exactly one
week after the U.S. Open final — assum-

ing the United States Tennis Associa-

tion stuck to its current dates.

There is no word yet on whether

Wimbledon, which is scheduled to be-

gin June 29 in London, plans to shift to

different dates.

The decision to change the schedule

caused immediate controversy with

players, who would have to play gruel-

ing Grand Slam events on different sur-

faces (hardcourt to clay) with no break

in between.

ATP players’ council member Vasek

Pospisil tweeted that Roland Garros

made the decision without communi-

cating at all with the players or the ATP

Tour and called it “madness.”

Tennis, as much as any sport, has

been vulnerable to the coronavirus con-

cerns due to the worldwide nature of the

tours and players coming from all areas

of the globe for big tournaments.

The French Open moving to the fall

gives at least some forward-focused

clarity to the calendar, which has been

suspended for at least six weeks by the

ATP Tour and until May 2 for the WTA.

The traditional spring lead-up to the

French Open includes big clay-court

tournaments in places like Barcelona,

Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid, which

are in or close to areas currently dealing

with significant COVID-19 outbreaks.

With a new date set for the French

Open, it’s possible the professional ten-

nis tours don’t get fully cranked up again

until the grass-court season in June.

But playing Roland-Garros in Sep-

tember, and particularly right after the

U.S. Open, will cause a significant reor-

dering of the calendar in the fall with

one of the biggest events impacted be-

ing the Laver Cup, a Europe vs. World

team event put on by Roger Federer’s

management company that has grown

in popularity the last three years. The

Laver Cup was scheduled to be played in

Boston the weekend of Sept. 25.

Another intriguing aspect to the U.S.

Open and French Open going almost

back-to-back is that Rafael Nadal is the

defending champion of both tourna-

ments. He was going to be the massive

favorite this year to win his 13th title at

Roland-Garros, which would tie him

with Federer for the all-time lead with

20 Grand Slams.

Dan Wolken

Columnist

USA TODAY

French Open move intriguing for fans

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Postponing the
Kentucky Derby was a no-brainer. Re-
scheduling it on Sept. 5, however, took
some thought.
In recommending that no gatherings
of more than 50 people be held for the
next eight weeks, the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention forced the
hand of the fence-straddlers at Chur-
chill Downs.
America’s longest-running sports
event is being moved from the first Sat-
urday in May to the first Saturday in
September. That it took this long to ac-
knowledge May 2 as untenable reflects
the difficulty of moving an enormous
event under suboptimal conditions.
As big a deal as it is, the Derby does
not exist in a vacuum. As the first leg of
Thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown,
the Run for the Roses has a symbiotic re-
lationship with the Preakness and Bel-
mont Stakes. Moreover, its contractual
obligation to NBC Sports runs through
2025.
Beyond the Himalayan hurdles of a
four-month shift in Derby logistics, pre-
serving the continuity of a rescheduled
Triple Crown on a timetable agreeable to
its network partner would be a tremen-
dous challenge under ordinary circum-
stances. Doing so amid the coronavirus
pandemic is an act of optimism, one
that is arguably unwarranted.
Who knows when the virus can be
contained? Who knows if race dates

penciled in in March will be erased by

events down the road? With Keeneland

canceling its spring meet Monday, cer-

tainties are growing scarce.

This much is known – Churchill

Downs currently controls three sets of

2020 racing dates: April 25-June 27;

Sept. 16-27 and Oct. 28-Nov. 29. Addi-

tional dates can be made available on an

emergency basis by the Kentucky Horse

Racing Commission, although those

dates would likely conflict with those

previously awarded to other tracks.

Considering Churchill Downs’ clout,

that’s certainly not an insurmountable

obstacle. Though the KHRC strives to

provide exclusivity during the meets of

its Thoroughbred and standardbred

tracks, there is nothing in state licens-

ing regulations to prohibit overlapping

dates. Meanwhile, those regulations

contain a clear mandate to “maximize

revenues to the state.”

Few events maximize revenue like

the Kentucky Derby. Marc Guilfoil, exec-

utive director of the KHRC, was asked

recently if the Derby was racing’s pro-

verbial 1,000-pound gorilla.

“It’s bigger than that,” he said.

The only relevant limitation in Chap-

ter 230 of the Kentucky Revised Stat-

utes is that a track granted overlapping

dates within a 50-mile radius of another

track is not permitted to have post times

after 5:30 p.m. from July 1 through Sept.

15 unless agreed to in writing by the

tracks affected.

Given Churchill Downs’ distance

from other Kentucky tracks, that provi-

sion would not apply here. Given Ellis

Park’s June 28-Sept. 6 race meet, Chur-

chill Downs’ interest in encroaching on

another track’s racing calendar appears

to have been overwhelming.

NBC’s contractual commitment to

carry Notre Dame football home games

(and its Oct. 3 away game at Wisconsin)

limits the network’s flexibility. Between

late August and early November, the

Fighting Irish have two bye weeks (Sept.

5 and Oct. 24) and two road games not

being broadcast (Sept. 26 and Oct. 17).

Given those options, and the industry’s

interest in having top 3-year-olds avail-

able for the Nov. 6-7 Breeders’ Cup at

Keeneland, the Sept. 5 date was always

more logical and more likely.

“I can say with certainty that we can-

not confirm that date yet, and anyone

who has is completely preliminary,”

Churchill Downs spokeswoman Tonya

Abeln said Monday.

“I can’t confirm or deny that,” said

Karen Williams, president and CEO of

Louisville Tourism. “I will say that

(Churchill Downs president) Kevin

(Flanery) and I have been in contact the

last three weeks. All that I’ve told my

hotels – and they’re very aware of our

conversations – is that the hopeful sil-

ver lining is that the Derby would not be

canceled. It would be postponed.”

Considering the number of local ho-

tels suddenly “sold out” for the weekend

of Sept. 5, the move was an open secret

by mid-day Monday. Whether the Derby

will retain its traditional place as the

first of the Triple Crown races, however,

is unclear.

Craig Fravel, who presides over rac-

ing operations for the Stronach Group,

which operates the Preakness and Pim-

lico, said talks on that topic “are all in-

ternal, so I really can’t discuss them

publicly at this point.

“Everyone is moving at lightning

speed, adjusting to different rules and

protocols. So at this point we don’t have

anything to discuss publicly.”

The New York Racing Association,

which oversees the Belmont Stakes, did

not immediately respond to a request

for comment.

Skip Sayre, chief of sales and market-

ing for Laguna Development, said late

Sunday that Ellis Park had not been ap-

proached about sharing a race date with

Churchill Downs. Multiple sources said

representatives of the two tracks were

in contact Monday.

“What we’re really doing is dealing

with conditions on the ground,” Sayre

said Sunday. “What comes next, I don’t

think a lot of us have a great idea yet.”

Finding new date for Derby wasn’t easy

Tim Sullivan
The (Louisville) Courier-Journal
USA TODAY Network

Horses leave the gate at the start of a

2019 race at Keeneland. PAT

MCDONOGH/THE (LOUISVILLE) COURIER JOURNAL

Formula 1 is poised to bring forward
its mandatory summer shutdown to
start as early as the end of this week in
order to open up flexibility in the calen-
dar and cut costs.
The coronavirus pandemic has re-
sulted in the first four races being post-
poned, with a likely start date for the
season now being no earlier than the
Monaco Grand Prix on May 24. In reali-
ty, the season is expected to start even
later than that, with most employees in
Europe being told to work from home for
the foreseeable future.
RACER Magazine understands that
in order to deal with the unprecedented
situation, the teams have agreed to
bring the mandatory shutdown period –
usually two weeks to be taken during a
three-week window in August – forward

by a number of months to start from

March 23.

As many race team members are in

the first week of two weeks of self-iso-

lation after returning from Australia,

the shutdown period will be extended

to three weeks, which must be taken

by the end of April. The extended shut-

down will also help to reduce over-

heads for the teams at a time when

they are being hit financially.

By moving the shutdown, the whole

of August will be available for races to

be rescheduled if required, opening up

three previously blocked weekends. At

present the races in Australia, Bahrain,

Vietnam and China need reschedul-

ing, though Netherlands and Spain are

also expected to fall by the wayside.

Agreement from seven of the 10

teams is required to push through such

a change, but it is understood all 10 are

on board with the plan.

Formula One moves

up summer shutdown

Chris Medland
Racer Magazine | USA TODAY Network

UEFA announced Tuesday that the

Euro 2020 soccer tournament, set to

be played in June and July, will be

postponed for 12 months as the world

deals with the coronavirus pandemic.

The move was made with the idea

other UEFA competitions can po-

tentially return this year once the

COVID-19 outbreak subsides. Current-

ly, all UEFA matches are suspended in-

definitely.

“The health of all those involved in

the game is the priority, as well as to

avoid placing any unnecessary pres-

sure on national public services in-

volved in staging matches,” the organi-

zation said in its announcement.

Another summertime tournament,

the CONMEBOL Copa America set to

be held in Colombia and Argentina,

will now be played in 2021 from June 11

to July 11.

“It is an extraordinary measure for

an unexpected situation, and therefore

responds to the fundamental need to

avoid an exponential evolution of the vi-

rus,” the confederation said in a state-

ment.

Each organization acknowledged the

other for working together while reach-

ing the conclusion to postpone so cer-

tain players’ schedules would not suffer

next year.

Soccer events postponed

Chris Bumbaca

USA TODAY

Euro 2020 now will be played next year

because of the coronavirus outbreak.

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

words, the International Olympic Com-
mittee put out a statement saying it “re-
mains fully committed” to holding the
Olympics in Tokyo as scheduled, which
is the right decision, at least for now. It
said there is “no need for any drastic de-
cisions at this stage,” and that any spec-
ulation is “counter-productive.”
It added something else: “The IOC
encourages all athletes to continue to
prepare for the Olympic Games Tokyo
2020 as best they can.”
As best they can.
“I don’t even know where I’m training
tomorrow. “It’s been pretty crazy,” said

King, 23, who trains at her alma mater,

Indiana University, but the school is

now closed.

“A lot of the swimmers are based out

of the university,” she said. “We don’t

really have a place to train right now. So

it’s just been kind of bouncing back and

forth to training at a YMCA, seeing if we

can get in a country club somewhere.”

This is a snapshot of life at the mo-

ment for one of the world’s finest swim-

mers. King holds the world record in

both the 50- and 100-meter women’s

breaststroke, is an 11-time world cham-

pion and is best known for backing up

her strong comments about the scourge

of doping in her sport with a scintillat-

ing gold medal-winning performance in

the 100 breaststroke four years ago in

Rio. She also won a gold in the U.S.

women’s 4x100 medley relay.

When IU closed, she and her training

partners went to the YMCA.

Then it closed.

Unlike most athletes around the

country and the world whose sports

and/or events have been postponed or

canceled, King and hundreds of her fel-

low Olympians and Olympic hopefuls

must do everything they can to train as

usual because their event is still on. Not

just the Olympic Games, but for King,

the U.S. Olympic swimming trials,

which are scheduled June 21-28.

“It is stressful, but I know there was

an IOC conference call today and from

what I had seen, the Olympics are going

on as planned,” she said. “I don’t think

they’re going to cancel, but if they post-

pone for another year, that definitely

changes a lot of people’s plans. Whether

that means retirement for some people

or that gives high school kids a year to

get even faster and beat the old folks

who are trying to still make the Games,

it’s an unknown right now and we’ve got

to continue training as if it were normal,

which sucks.”

Focusing on the Olympics in the

midst of so much uncertainty, fear and

chaos isn’t easy.

“It’s one where you have to train as if

it is happening because if it’s happen-

ing, you need to be ready,” King said.

“You just kind of got to keep that mind-

set because you never know what’s go-

ing to happen and who’s going to take

advantage of this time and who’s not.

You just have to be ready for anything.”

Contributing: Rachel Axon

Brennan

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