LONDON: Significant reductions in prize money will be the new reality for tennis players when the ATP and WTA Tours resume, according to Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez.

“We have to understand that tennis is not going to be the same, at least for one, two, three years. I don’t know how long,” Lopez, who should have been preparing to defend his Queen’s Club title next week, said on Sunday.

No professional tournaments have been held since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shutdown will continue until August.

Wimbledon was cancelled altogether while the French Open has been moved to September. A decision over whether the U.S. Open can go ahead in late August is expected next week.

Lopez, who is also tournament director of the Madrid Open, says that even when things return to some kind of normal, prizemoney will be reduced as sponsors try to navigate the economic fallout of the virus.

“The companies and the sponsors, they might have to fire employees,” the 38-year-old Lopez was quoted as saying by the BBC.

“This is happening everywhere in the world so the first thing they cut is sponsorship, and this is going to be affecting tennis massively.

“We need to survive this moment and we need to be united. “The players need to understand that it’s going to be a significant reduction in the prize money.

“I see now the scenario where tournaments will survive with a significant reduction in prize money – not only for this year, but also for (the) 2021 season.”

Lopez believes the U.S. Open will go ahead despite the reservations of his compatriot Rafa Nadal, the defending champion, who says he would not be happy to travel to New York in the current circumstances.

World number one Novak Djokovic has also expressed his doubts about the tournament going ahead.

“I think the U.S. Open know there might be many players that don’t want to go and play there,” he said.

“But I think the U.S. Open is not depending on only the top players playing. My personal opinion is that they are planning to have the event thinking that some of the top players – I don’t know how many – might not play.”

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)

REUTERS: Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez says he is “not very positive” about the chances of the ATP and WTA Tours returning to normal within three months and believes it would be unfair to resume if some parts of the world remained in isolation.

Professional tennis was shut down in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic and will not return until at least mid-July, but Lopez believes that might be too optimistic.

Wimbledon has been cancelled for the first time since World War Two while the French Open has been put back to September after the US Open which still hangs in the balance.

“Right now it’s more about US Open – when they are going to announce if eventually we can play there, maybe the Tour will be able to resume,” Lopez told Eurosport’s Tennis Legends podcast which will be released on Thursday.

“But, I’m not very positive to be honest. I think tennis is a very global sport where players come from all over the world. There are tournaments everywhere in the world as well and I think the fact that some countries have different restrictions than others is going to make things very, very difficult.”

Lopez fears a situation where certain players would not be able to compete, depending on the situation in their country.

“In order to resume, I think the Tour is going to be open when the world is completely open, and everybody can travel freely,” said the 38-year-old, tournament director of the Madrid Open which is this week holding an Esports version.

“If, for example, in September, me being Spanish I am not able to go to America or let’s say I have to be in quarantine as soon as I get there. It’s not fair that some players would have the chance to compete, some other players wouldn’t.

“I don’t see the Tour resuming if this doesn’t happen in two or three months time.”

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Even when tennis does resume, Lopez worries that the economic impact of the pandemic will hit the sport hard and potentially lead to tournaments folding.

“The situation is really bad. All over the world, we will see a lot of tournaments struggling to survive and I think our focus in general has to be to survive from 2021 onwards,” he said. “Because the crisis is going to be huge.

“Maybe the Slams, the bigger tournaments somehow have to contribute by supporting. I think instead of thinking about playing four, five or six tournaments at the end of this year, we have to start thinking about 2021.

“The first thing that’s cut in a company are the sponsors because they have to fire thousands of employees in many companies around the world. If we don’t have sponsors, how can we survive?”

From a playing perspective, Lopez says a sudden return after such a long break could potentially be dangerous.

“This has been the longest period without hitting a ball in my life,” Lopez said.

“I see a big risk because when tennis is going to resume, there’s going to be a lot of injuries. I think this is something that we have to keep in mind to have at least two months to prepare and to work on your fitness condition to be ready.”

REUTERS: Levante coach Paco Lopez has said he hoped La Liga did not allow supporters to attend matches in the final stretch of the season because his side were playing home games at a different ground after assuming the fixtures would be played without spectators.

Organisers had said all games would be played behind closed doors to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus but La Liga president Javier Tebas is hoping spectators can attend matches in reduced numbers before the season ends.

Levante, who are 13th and eight points above the relegation zone with 11 games left, will play their final six matches at the 5,000-capacity Camilo Cano Olympic Stadium, more than 150km from their Ciutat de Valencia ground which is being renovated.

“I will not be able to understand it if they change criteria and matches are played with fans in the end, I think it would be an authentic disgrace,” Lopez told a virtual news conference ahead of his side’s first game back at Valencia on Friday.

“The club made that decision thinking that there would be no fans at these games. We were told that the season would finish without fans and it would be wrong and unfair if that changes.”

As well as sporting considerations, Lopez is against opening stadiums up to supporters for health reasons after more than 27,000 people in Spain had died from the virus.

“It would not be right especially considering where we have come from, we cannot forget about the people who have died. People’s health should come first,” he added.

League chief Tebas told reporters on Thursday he would like to see stadiums at 10per cent or 15per cent capacity once the government’s protocol allows it from June 29, although the final decision is with the department for sport.

Real Madrid are in a similar situation to Levante as they are playing their final home games at the 6,000-capacity Alfredo di Stefano stadium after deciding to move forward construction work on the facelift to the Santiago Bernabeu.

(Reporting by Richard Martin; Editing by Ken Ferris)

California Governor Gavin Newsom posted a video to his TikTok account with celebrity George Lopez on Saturday. The pair were shown inside a restaurant in an area of California that currently doesn’t allow indoor dining.

In the video, Newsom and Lopez talk about where to find information about coronavirus vaccine eligibility in California.

At the beginning of the clip, Lopez is shown wearing a face mask while sitting at a table inside the restaurant.

“How do I find out if I can get a vaccination,” Lopez asked.

Newsom, also wearing a face mask, then appeared in a mirror behind the celebrity and said, “You got to go to myturn.ca.gov,” referring to California’s website dedicated to helping residents navigate the process of determining their coronavirus vaccine eligibility.

“Wait a minute,” Lopez said in surprise. “Thank you, governor.”

Newsom and Lopez were inside Los Amigos Mexican Restaurant in Fresno, California, during the recording of the TikTok video. A separate video of Lopez endorsing the restaurant’s food was posted to Los Amigos Mexican Restaurant’s Facebook page.

Fresno County is in California’s purple tier of coronavirus restrictions, meaning that the area has “widespread” COVID-19 infections with more than an 8 percent positivity rate. In Fresno county, many nonessential indoor businesses are closed and restaurants do not allow indoor dining due to the high infection rate.

Daniel Lopez, a spokesperson for Newsom, told Fox News that the governor didn’t dine inside the restaurant. He added that Newsom visited Los Amigos Mexican Restaurant to meet the restaurant’s owners, who received a relief grant.

Newsom, however, faced backlash for posting the TikTok video.

“This TikTok was posted inside a restaurant in a county where indoor dining is banned,” TikTok user mc_politics said in a comment on the video. “Yikes Gavin Newsom!”

Mc_politics later added: “I’m saying he’s a hypocrite for not following his own rules.”

Another TikTok user named bs_abstract also commented on the video and said “rules for thee not for Newsom.”

Many other TikTok users called to recall the California governor in the video’s comment section.

“Recall Newsom,” TikTok users kevin9510b and user793187924239 said alongside others.

Newsom previously faced backlash after he disregarded California’s COVID-19 restrictions in November to dine at the French Laundry in Napa, a California city known for its wineries located west of Sacramento, for his adviser’s birthday. At the time, Napa also didn’t allow indoor dining.

The California governor later called his decision to eat at the restaurant a “bad mistake.”

“Instead of sitting down, I should have stood up and walked back, got in my car and drove back to my house,” Newsom said during a November news briefing. “And so I want to apologize to you, because I need to preach and practice, not just preach and not practice, and I’ve done my best to do that.”

The incident, however, ignited efforts to recall the California governor .

Newsweek reached out to Newsom’s office, but didn’t hear back in time for publication.