How COVID-19 Impacted the GLTA World Tour

2020 was “unprecedented” – a term that many of us have heard over and over again to describe the worldwide pandemic that rocked all corners of the globe. The GLTA World Tour was not exempt from this pandemic as we saw tournaments stopped for the better part of 5 months.

Our Australian tournaments concluded play early in 2020 and have managed to play again in 2021, albeit with much smaller draws. For example, the Perth Lawn Tennis Championships concluded in 2021 with 59 participants, as opposed to 113 in 2020.

In Europe, The Diamond was played in February 2020. Tournament play did not resume until the Prague Friendly Tennis Open was played in July 2020.

The situation in North America has been much longer lasting. The last GLTA tournaments that were played on the continent were in March 2020. Tournament play has not resumed, as many parts of the continent are continuing to struggle with COVID-19 and its variants.

At the conclusion of our fiscal year (Dec 2020), there were only 24 tournaments that were played. In 2019, for comparison, 88 tournaments were held. The lack of tournament play across the world has impacted many social and mental well-being as well as the finances of the GLTA (more on that in a separate article).  

Tournaments throughout the year:

Like you, the GLTA Executive Board looks forward to a return to “normal” tennis activity. We cannot wait to travel around the world to see our friends and play the game that we all LOVE. We also recognize that when the opportunity to play a tournament arises, you will have to weigh the pros and cons of playing versus personal and family health.