Paris (AFP)
Richard Gasquet, 50th in the world, will participate in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS), the competition between ten players invented by Patrick Mouratoglou and which will start in mid-June in his academy near Nice, the organization announced on Wednesday.
Gasquet joins his two French compatriots Benoît Paire (22nd) and Lucas Pouille (58th), as well as the Belgian David Goffin (10th), the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (20th), the Australian Alexei Popyrin (103rd) and the German Dustin Brown (239th).
"I look forward to taking part in the first edition of UTS. I know that tennis fans are looking forward to seeing tennis live again and I am sure that the modernity of this new format will please them," said Gasquet, cited in the press release.
The competition wanted by Mouratoglou, who is notably the trainer of Serena Williams, will be the first in France since the professional circuit was stopped in mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ten players, three of whom are still unknown but are announced as "top players", will compete behind closed doors over five weekends starting June 13 at the rate of 10 matches per weekend.
The format aims to be attractive to young audiences, in particular by allowing players to express their emotions ... including negative ones without risking fines. The whole will be retransmitted in streaming.
Several other exhibition tournaments have been played or are scheduled in Europe and the United States.
The professional circuit is currently suspended until the end of July.
© 2020 AFP