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LONDON -- The tennis rankings that come out after the 2021 French Open will be used to determine who qualifies for the Tokyo Olympics, postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The International Tennis Federation said Tuesday that its eligibility rules will be the same as originally set up for Tokyo, with requirements related to minimum participation in Fed Cup or Davis Cup -- and an appeals process for players who do not meet those standards.

The cutoff for ATP and WTA rankings points for the 2020 Games originally had been Monday, the day after this year's French Open was supposed to end.

But the Olympics were pushed back a year from next month to July 2021. The 2020 French Open also was postponed and is now scheduled to start in September.

Next year's French Open will end on June 6, so the WTA and ATP rankings of June 7 will be used to help determine who qualifies for the Olympics.

For the Paralympic wheelchair tennis event, the ITF said that all athletes who would have been eligible in 2020 will remain eligible next year.

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USTA cuts jobs, closes New York office amid pandemic
Jun 8, 2020
Peter Bodo
ESPN.com Staff Writer
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The United States Tennis Association, facing the same bleak financial landscape as fellow Grand Slam organizers, announced Monday a comprehensive reorganization program that eliminated 110 jobs -- reducing the national staff by about 20% -- and will result in the closure of the organization's office in White Plains, New York.

At the same time, the USTA is trying to ensure that its flagship event, the US Open (scheduled to start Aug. 24), will be played, albeit without spectators and under strict protocols demanded by the coronavirus pandemic.

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In a statement, the USTA called the restructuring a "transformational plan" that better serves the not-for-profit organization's mission to promote the growth of tennis, as well as protects the association from the long-range negative effects of the pandemic.

"We have an opportunity to reimagine the structure of the organization to better serve the tennis community in the United States," Michael Dowse, USTA chief executive officer and executive director, said in a statement. "This new structure allows the USTA to be more agile and more cost effective."

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The USTA staff in White Plains and at the national campus in Orlando, Florida, were informed of the reorganization in a video call Monday morning. But about a week ago, the USTA sent offers of "voluntary departure" packages to scores of employees 50 years of age or older who had put in 15 years or more with the organization. According to sources at the USTA, those employees were offered 40 weeks of severance pay and health insurance over that period. Those who turned down the offer were not guaranteed that their positions would remain.

The reorganization had been in the works since 2018, when the USTA board of directors launched a process that ultimately produced a "strategic plan" that, according to Patrick Galbraith, USTA chairman of the board and president, was "designed to bolster the organization's mission and provide continuity of planning through 2026." However, the implementation of that plan was sped up in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dowse was brought in to succeed Gordon Smith as the USTA CEO specifically to oversee this transition. The organization's commitment to a $20 million relief package to help grassroots and tennis facility operators, along with anticipated losses from a COVID-compromised US Open, fueled the urgency of the shake-up.


The USTA identified more than $20 million in savings to be had by, among other things, reducing salaries at the management level, furloughing employees and canceling the USTA annual and semi-annual meetings. The association also is eliminating select programs in marketing, player development and operations, and deferring all non-essential capital projects.

The USTA also said that while streaming costs and helping stakeholders navigate the challenges created by the pandemic were top-of-the-list items, its commitment to the US Open and other USTA-produced events will remain at "a world-class level."

The downsizing calls for a phased closing of the White Plains office, with the remaining staff relocating to a still-undetermined location in New York. Some programs that will be reduced but not eliminated, such as the player development unit that oversees the training of blue-chip prospects, will be folded into an expanded community tennis division that was hit hard by the layoffs.

"Unfortunately, today represents a challenging day for many of the USTA family who have been negatively affected by the downsizing of the organization," Dowse said.

Dominic Thiem jest zainteresowany grą w igrzyskach olimpijskich, które w 2021 roku odbędą się w Tokio. Dotychczas Austriak nie wyrażał chęci wzięcia udziału w tej imprezie.


Gdyby igrzyska olimpijskie odbyły się w pierwotnym terminie, to Dominic Thiem nie wziąłby w nich udziału. W sierpniu 2020 roku miał bowiem zamiar wystartować w rodzimej imprezie ATP Tour 250 na kortach ziemnych w Kitzbuehel. Plany te storpedowała jednak pandemia COVID-19, a turniej olimpijski w Tokio odbędzie się na przełomie lipca i sierpnia 2021 roku.

Austriak zaskoczył na konferencji prasowej przed ATP Finals 2020, gdy wyznał, że jest zainteresowany grą w igrzyskach olimpijskich. - Mam szczęście. W tym roku nie mógłbym grać z powodu turnieju w Kitzbuehel. Zmieniłem zdanie. Udział w igrzyskach olimpijskich byłby marzeniem. Bardzo chciałbym tam zagrać w przyszłym roku - powiedział, cytowany przez Sky Sports.

Thiem nie poleciał na igrzyska olimpijskie w Rio de Janeiro w 2016 roku i nie miał w planach gry w Tokio. Rozważał za to występ w turnieju olimpijskim w Paryżu, który będzie gościć sportowców w 2024 roku. Teraz jednak chce wystąpić w japońskiej stolicy. - Widziałem emocje Andy'ego Murraya i Juan Martina del Potro (mistrza i wicemistrza olimpijskiego z 2016 roku - przyp. red.). Może uda mi się zagrać w trzech igrzyskach olimpijskich - dodał triumfator US Open 2020.


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Wpływ na zmianę decyzji Thiema mógł mieć również jego obecny trener, Nicolas Massu. Chilijczyk wygrywał w ramach głównego cyklu mniejsze imprezy, ale najbardziej jest kojarzony ze spektakularnego sukcesu w Atenach, gdzie w 2004 roku wywalczył olimpijskie złoto w singlu oraz w deblu w parze z Fernando Gonzalezem.

W najbliższych dniach Thiem zagra w kończących sezon zawodach ATP Finals 2020. Jego pierwszym grupowym rywalem będzie już w niedzielę o godz. 15:00 naszego czasu broniący tytułu Grek Stefanos Tsitsipas. Będzie to dla Austriaka okazja do rewanżu za zeszłoroczną porażkę w finale londyńskiego turnieju.