Veteran stars like Rafael Nadal, 34, and Andy Murray, 33, are understandably skeptical that they can manage all of this, and they are concerned that the ranking system could quickly become skewed. Both the ATP and WTA considered unfreezing the ranking at the start of 2021 and playing the remainder of the 2020 season without points. But that option was discarded because it would essentially transform tournaments into exhibitions, a prospect rejected by events like the United States Open, which has contractual deals with sponsors and broadcasters that are linked to the tournament’s ranking points. Another plan that was discarded was having points awarded for the remainder of 2020 that only counted toward qualifying for November’s year-end championships. That leaves two leading options on the table, both of which would allow some of a player’s ranking points to carry beyond 52 weeks, in an attempt to reduce the impact of re-entry.

Source: International New York Times July 04, 2020 04:52 UTC