I’ve been intrigued to see the way in which leading tennis players are trying to make sure their sport seizes the opportunity for change that this coronavirus crisis has presented.
Being bold rather than hoping for the best is exactly the right mindset.
The landscape when sport returns will be totally different and there’s no getting away from that.
Sticking your head in the sand just isn’t going to cut it.
None other than probably the greatest player of all time has said that “now is the time” for tennis’s men’s and women’s governing bodies to merge.
When Roger Federer speaks, people will listen, and he’s already got a lot of high profile names behind him.
“We can come out of this with two weakened bodies or one stronger body,” he said. It’s a very powerful message.
Tennis does seem to be a sport where the athletes have a lot of clout and where they want to be involved in the decision-making. I can’t think of a sport where that happens more.
That’s not to say we’ll end up seeing one tennis tour – I don’t see that working – but I can see much more cooperation emerging out of this.
A sport with bigger worries – certainly from a female point of view – and a greater need to think outside the box, is golf.
The game in Europe for women professionals was in a bad enough state before the lockdown. Goodness only knows what it will look like after it.
I can’t ever see a day when you’ll have the men and women playing their Open Championships on the Old Course at the same time but I’d love to see the men’s tours helping out.
Here’s an idea for starters.
Would anybody really miss the President’s Cup if it disappeared in its current format? Let’s face it, the competition is a pale imitation of the Ryder Cup with none of the edge and excitement.
Instead, what about having a mixed men’s and women’s team event?
The format works brilliantly in the Continental Cup in curling and there’s no reason why it wouldn’t be just as good – or even better in golf.
* Like for other St Johnstone fans, it came as a shock to read the news that Tommy Wright had left the club.
I don’t get to see the team play as much I would like to but the Scottish Cup final in 2014 was an unforgettable occasion and so was going on the McDiarmid Park pitch with our Olympic medals.
Tommy’s the best manager in the club’s history.
But even that doesn’t mean he’s impossible to follow.
Providing they pick the right guy to take over – which Saints have made a good job of in the past – there’s no reason to think things will start to crumble.
Even the very best coaches and managers have a shelf-life and getting a fresh voice could even be a good thing in the next couple of years.
The most important factor will be the situation the new man inherits from Tommy. It’s a lot easier to build from strong foundations and provided his successor is sensible enough to not take a sledgehammer to those foundations, I’m pretty confident Saints will be OK.
