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Ricky Wilson / Stuff
Serena Williams won the ASB Classic in January.
Covid-19 is forcing the 2021 ASB Classic off the court, but its tournament director is convinced that a 12-month hiatus will not prevent the biggest names in world tennis from returning to New Zealand.
Neither the men’s or women’s tournaments will go ahead in January after the cancellations were confirmed on Tuesday.
Tournament Director Karl Budge said Stuff Several different scenarios were investigated to bring the international field to New Zealand, including the possibility of a three-day quarantine for players before moving into a bubble, but ultimately there was a lack of time to resolve the many issues that were primarily focused on the mandatory 14-day quarantine period upon entering the country.
Phil Walter / Getty Images
A dejected Karl Budge is convinced that the 2021 hiatus will not prevent the world’s leading players from returning to Auckland in 2022.
A philosophical Budge described the event as “another victim of Covid” and was reluctant to blame outside influences, such as the lack of government support around the quarantine issue.
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“As much as none of us want to see it, I think it is a wise decision for what we are facing at the moment.
“There are several of us, not just immune to the sports and events sector, who have obviously been severely affected by the ramifications of Covid,” Budge said.
Several solid plans were put in place that the ASB Classic team hoped could be accomplished by next summer, but Budge said it became apparent late last week that “they were starting to pursue a rather unlikely goal.”
Phil Walter / Getty Images
The ASB Classic 2021 has been canceled due to Covid-19 implications.
“There was no area in which the plan failed.
“Where are they going to stay? How are they going to stay? Who would be inside the bubble? Who wouldn’t be inside the bubble? How would it work in an environment where we still want to have viewers?
“There were a number of areas that we needed to work on and unfortunately it would take us some time to get to a point of confidence that I could move on and unfortunately that was the moment that we just didn’t have,” Budge said.
“You can’t have a multi-million dollar tournament like the one we run here every year in a matter of weeks,” Budge said.
Serena Williams won the 2020 Women’s ASB Classic, just one example of the high-caliber talent that has been drawn to the tournament in recent years.
As disappointing as the decision was, Budge doesn’t see how a 12-month hiatus would prevent the world’s best players from returning to Auckland.
“We know we have won the locker room, the players vote with their feet every year and I don’t think a virus and 12 months is going to change that,” Budge said.
He said the flux effect of the 2021 cancellation was felt in much wider circles than just the tennis community.
“There are several vendors, sponsors who spend a lot of money on this event and its surroundings.
“We are suffering with our providers today, not only are we here at Tennis Auckland feeling quite sad. We have some very passionate fans and some really loyal sponsors and supporters and we know how important the ASB Classic was to several of our providers within the event industry.
“It’s a sad day, I think, for events in general.
“It would have been great to give that momentum to an industry that has had a pretty tough year,” Budge said.
