The organizers of the tennis Masters in Madrid, which was supposed to be held in May, but was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, announced on Monday that they will organize a virtual tournament of a humanitarian nature.
The newly created Mutua Madrid Open Virtua Pro should bring together tennis professionals who will replace rackets with joysticks, and will not have to leave their homes to participate in this tournament. The organizers have announced that they will soon name the tennis players who will compete from April 27 to 30 in the Tennis World Tour video game. The tournament will be of a humanitarian nature.
"Our goal is to help players who currently have no income due to several months of inactivity, as well as those who are sick with COVID-19," reads the announcement of the organizers of the Madrid tournament, who decided to allocate 150.000 euros in prize money and more 50.000 euros to help fight the spread of the new coronavirus.
The winners in both categories will be able to decide how much of the prize they will set aside for those colleagues who have found themselves in financial difficulties due to their current tennis inactivity.
"Our goal is not only entertainment, but we also want to make our contribution in these difficult times," said tournament director Feliciano Lopes.
The initiative was welcomed by the head of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), Andrea Gaudenci.
"We are particularly pleased that players who are in a critical situation in these difficult times will also benefit from this initiative," Gaudenci said.
"The Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro is a unique and creative way for women players on the WTA Tour to compete and engage with their fans during this difficult time," said Women's Tennis Association (WTA) President Steve Simon.
The last professional tennis tournaments were played at the beginning of March, when the season was interrupted.
For now, all tournaments scheduled until July 13 have been canceled or postponed.
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