2020 Off Season

 2020 Season Recap

Gonna post all the winners for the big stuff (GS, YEC, ATP Masters 1000, WTA PM, P5). Chronologically, mixing the lads and the gals. But first, the main protagonist of this guano-type year:

Ain't I pretty?

With that out of the way, let's go!

2020 Is Done! Hallelujah!

 London Calling

So here we are. The shittiest year ever is ending. Here's hoping 2021 will smell better. So the women are already done with 2020. That leaves the men with the grandest non-GS thing going this week. That is, of course, the YEC.

The End of 2020 (for the ladies)

ATP Sofia; WTA Linz

So, for the women, we have the last tournament of this shitty year. The men still have the YEC to look forward to. A lot of people are taking this week off.

We'll Always Have Paris...

 ATP Paris; WTA still zilch

Bogey said that, and that Casablanca feel is pretty apt in these times. So the men are having the last ATP Masters 1000 of the year, while the women are having a 2nd consecutive week of nothing much.

Just For the Lads

 ATP Vienna, Nur-Sultan; WTA nada

ATP is still going strong, while WTA is almost done for the year. So this week is just for the lads. One ATP 500 and one ATP 250 (last of the four bonus C19 tournaments batch).

Indoor. Fully.

ATP Antwerp, Köln; WTA Ostrava

 

The good Czechs managed to set up a WTA tournament, Premier, no less! That would be a penultimate gasp in a sick WTA season. ATP is way stronger and this week has two ATP 250 and also more to come next weeks.

Indoor! (Almost)

 ATP St. Petersburg, Köln, Sardinia; WTA zilch

Last GS came and went, and this shit year is winding down. Definitely for the women: just two more tournaments (maybe) but not this week. The men will still get about ten tournaments, three of them this week.

Roland Garros, 2nd week

 Championnats Internationaux de France de Tennis

Six more days to go. Weather was not good to pretty bad, but thanks to floodlights and the new roof, we barely saw postponed or interrupted matches. Let's hope for better weather.

Roland Garros

 Championnats Internationaux de France de Tennis

So here we are. The last GS of the year and it's Roland Garros. In autumn! I know! Already we are bracing for two cold damp weeks ahead. Who's gonna feel like a fish in water? Everybody is speculating wildly. All this because of the shit.

It's the B(o)urg week!

 WTA Strasbourg; ATP Hamburg

Week before Roland Garros! In September! Yeah... the shit... Anyway, we have a Mickey Mouse tournament for the women and a stronger one for the men; but both were moved from their normal calendar slots. Both on clay (naturally), and both have pretty impressive draws, because some folks hate Rome but had to get some clay matches before the French Open (Frenchies hate it when you call it that... they go "Non, zees iz no FO, zees is Rrrrroland Garrrrros!").

Clay season? Well... yeah.

Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Rome

Here we are, clay season after USO. Weird. Also we have an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA Premier 5 right after a GS. Expect more weird stuff to happen.

Still bubbling, but some want clay

USO, Week 2; ATP Kitzbuhel; WTA Istanbul

So in this weird year (because of the shit) the ATP and the WTA decided to give some options for those that didn't travel to the USO. And given that we're gonna have RG soon, they naturally opted for some clay prep. These tournaments are moved from their regular weeks in the calendars to the 2nd week of USO.

Bubbling at the USO

USO

Here we go, almost September and we're at the 2nd GS of the year. USO. Should've been the 4th. Well... shit happened. Due to that we also have a somewhat depleted field.

Welcome to the NYC Bubble

WTA+ATP Western & Southern Open, New York

The guys start at last. We have the mixed event in the NYC bubble set up for the USO. Should have been in Cincinnati. But the shit happened. It is an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA Premier 5 (for 900 points).

There was one, now there are two!

 WTA Lexington and Prague

Last week in Palermo there were no hitches. Hooray! This week there are two! Yes! TWO! tournaments. Still just the WTA is in action. The guys have no balls. 

Girls are basically split between Europe and US and there are pretty strong signs that this split reflects their intentions regarding the two GSs that we will hopefully get this year: RG and USO.

There were none and now there's one!

WTA Palermo

Holy crap! No title strikethrough! Amazing!

So here we go again. Fingers crossed nothing bad happens and this goes well and we get everything running safely and smoothly.

The Olympics! Remember that?

Tokyo Olympics

Last year this week the North American HC season was getting into gear. WTA San Jose; ATP Atlanta, Kitzbuhel and a mixed event in Washington DC. But this year all that was shifted and moved around for the Tokyo Olympics. Goddamn this is really sad.

US HC? Not quite.

WTA Jurmala; ATP Gstaad, Los Cabos, Umag

So we have some clay and one HC tournaments. All are lowest tier: WTA International and ATP 250. Ladies don't have any options but Jurmala in Latvia, while the gents get three locations in Switzerland, Mexico and Croatia.

Post Grass Blues

ATP Hamburg, Bastad, Newport; WTA Bucharest, Lausanne

It's the weird clay mini season that pops-up after grass for some unknown reason. The men have an ATP 500 in Hamburg and two ATP 250 in Bastad and Newport. Newport is on grass, the other two on clay. The women are 100% clay and at WTA International level, in Bucharest and Lausanne.

The Championships

Wimbledon

Grass season ending with two weeks on the AELTC lawns. Except you know... (But they were the smartest in tennis! They got pandemic insurance!)

And closer!

WTA+ATP Eastbourne; 

WTA Bad Homburg; ATP Mallorca

WTA has a Premier and an International, while the ATP has two ATP 250s. Germany has the 2nd brand new grass tournament for the ladies in consecutive weeks! Also Mallorca has a new one for the lads. But of course they couldn't because of the shit. Damn!

Wimbledon is getting closer!

ATP London, Halle; WTA Birmingham, Berlin

Two ATP 500 and for the WTA a Premier (Berlin, replacing the Mallorca International) and an International. So you can say some juicy ones this week! If only...

Grass season is here!

WTA, ATP 's-Hertogenbosh;

WTA Nottingham; ATP Stuttgart

So we're still hoping for some clay action in the autumn (fingers crossed), but the official grass season is completely wiped out. We might see some exibition matches and small local affairs though.

Roland Garros. No. Not yet?

Championnats Internationaux de France de Tennis

Clay season's epic finale. Not happening now, maybe happening sometimes in September? Because of the shit...

RG is getting closer! No.

WTA Rabat, Strasbourg; ATP Geneva, Lyon

The week before Roland Garros. The week to get a clay title with the big guns resting for the big one.  WTA has two Internationals and the ATP two 250s. In normal times, that is. Now everyone is pretty much resting. You know why!

Rome? No.

Internazionali BNL d'Italia

Another dual week. ATP Masters 1000 and WTA Premier 5. Crap! No Pietrangeli sights this year. This virus is starting to get on my nerves.

Madrid? No.

Mutua Madrid Open

The dual WTA Premier Mandatory (1000p) and ATP Masters 1000. SARS-CoV-2 took care of this one too. Poo.

On clay, clay and clay (no)

WTA Prague; ATP Munich and Estoril

WTA has just one thing not going on (last year there were two things going) while the ATP has two. Because of the shit. You know...

Clay getting hotter (no)

WTA Stuttgart, Istanbul; ATP Barcelona, Budapest

So enough with the SARS-CoV-2 jokes, right? Let's see who won these tournaments last year, shall we?

Full blown clay season (no)

Fed Cup (nope); ATP Monte Carlo (nope)

 

These humans! So disappointing! Washing hands, staying home. So hard being their friend! Still, yo! I'm your buddy, SARS-CoV-2, come on! It's f-ing Easter! Go see your relatives!

Ladies should be playing the Fed Cup Finals and Play-offs and the gents a huge ATP1000 in Monte Carlo.

Clay season start (no)

WTA Charleston, Bogota; ATP Houston, Marrakech

I'm still here! Buddy? Why don't you go to a party? Eh? 20 people? Come oooon!

Clay season is here! Virus too. Blah.

It shoulda been Miami

Covid-19 still rules

Hello there! I'm your buddy, SARS-CoV-2. Stop washing your hands! Nooooo! Stop that! It's a dirty habit! Damn you!

Tennis is on hiatus.

No IW. Yes Covid-19.

ATP, WTA Indian Wells

Well, not much to say, Indian Wells is suspended

Getting ready for IW

WTA Lyon, Monterrey; Davis Cup qualifiers

Indian Wells is just a week away so not much going on this week. Two WTA Internationals and a bunch of Davis Cup qualifier/play-off ties.

Out of Europe

WTA Doha; ATP Dubai, Santiago; ATP+WTA Acapulco

The women go to a big one in Doha, the men go to Dubai and Santiago and then they all meet in Acapulco. Europe gets the shaft this week.

WTA = Snafu

ATP Rio de Janeiro, Delray Beach, Marseille; WTA Dubai

I think the WTA management team's performance over the years deserves the title of this post.

Still All Over the Place!

ATP Rotterdam, Buenos Aires, New York; 

WTA St. Petersburg, Hua Hin

The men again traipse on three continents for one ATP 500 and two ATP 250, while the ladies limit themselves to two continents, having a WTA Premier and a WTA International to play.

Post AO Blues

ATP Cordoba, Montpellier, Pune; Fed Cup WG Playoffs

So here we are, 1st GS of the season under our belt, with a fresh face for the ladies and an old one for the gents (as per usual). But there's no rest for the wicked as they say: the men go on three continents for three ATP 250s while the women do the same for the Fed Cup World Group playoffs.

Two Weeks Down Under

Australian Open

Mandatory map...

 

The big talking point is still air quality. As you all already know, the worst bushfires in a century plagued basically all of Australia for the last months. It's smoky everywhere. Hopefully it's getting better, because if it's not the players will have serious problems going forward (as we already saw during qualies).

Almost Tasman Sea Week!

ATP Auckland, ATP+WTA Adelaide and WTA Hobart

Adelaide ruins my title! Boo!

So it's the week before AO. Things are quieter. Just a bunch of ATP 250s a WTA Premier and one International, so that the stress is minimal.

2020 Here We Go!

ATP Cup, Doha; WTA Auckland, Brisbane, Shenzhen

Google maps uses now a flat map! Boo.

After a pretty long wait tennis starts again. We get a team event and an ATP 250 for the guys and a Premier and two Internationals for the gals