Roger Federer started a tempest in the tennis world this week with a series of tweets calling for the merger of men’s and women’s tours into one organization. The 20-time Gram Slam champion’s comments have drawn support from tennis greats including Rafael Nadal and Billie Jean King. Federer’s fellow countryman Marc Rosset, a former pro player and Olympic gold medalist, shares his thoughts on the topic with CNNMoney’s Matt Leighton.
Tour de Suisse athletes cycling from their homes
The real Tour de Suisse is cancelled this year, but organizers would still like fans to enjoy professional cycle racing on the actual route. Born in record time, the Swiss Digital 5 series will feature the world’s top cyclists racing over five days from their homes via a virtual reality cycling platform. Olivier Senn, Co-CEO of Tour de Suisse, explains how the virtual race came about and discusses the future of digital racing.
The complexity of insuring sporting events
Wimbledon is one of the very few sporting events that had pandemic insurance, but with an annual fee of 1.5-million-pounds—with an estimated payout of 114 million pounds—it’s a costly undertaking. Sure, it will help the iconic tennis tournament to buffer the costs of this year’s cancellation, but if you’re thinking that your event could benefit from it in the future, think again. Matt Leighton speaks to Patrick Vajda, a sports-risk consultant at Siaci Saint Honore, who says that the issue is very complex.
Can Formula E outpace the corona crisis?
Formula E, like all sports, is facing a difficult time as the world battles COVID-19. Swiss driver Edoardo Mortara sits down with Matt Leighton to discuss the impact of the crisis on drivers and sponsors—and what it all means for the future of the sport.
Golf industry losing a “tremendous” amount of money
The Easter weekend is usually a boom time for golf courses in Switzerland, which boasts a thriving golfing community. But with the country in shutdown, the outlook is bleak, as Ian Gibbons, president of the Association of Swiss Golf Managers, explains to Matt Leighton.
Game plan for sports broadcasting and rights’ holders
The lucrative business of sports broadcasting and media rights has taken an extended time-out. Kimi Kranz, vice president of media sales and operations at Infront Sports & Media, hopes the sports world will kick off again in May or June. “As soon as there is live content again—on TV, on platforms—people will be happy to re-subscribe if they’ve canceled their subscriptions or will just be happy to watch again,” he says. “And for us, it will mean coming back to our daily bread and butter.”
Fresh spotlight on Lucerne’s Winter Universiade 2021
The Winter Universiade is the largest multidisciplinary competition for winter sports outside of the Olympics, and the next tournament is scheduled for Lucerne in January 2021. Mike Kurt, the president of the Swiss University Sports Federation, sees the event as “an unbelievable opportunity” since it may be the first multisport gathering after the coronavirus crisis.
With Euro 2020 now canceled, will the Summer Olympic Games be next?
UEFA announced today that is postponing Euro 2020 because of the coronavirus crisis. The quadrennial European football championships were originally supposed to take place from June 12 to July 12 across 12 countries to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the tournament. The Nyon-based UEFA said the event, one of the most prestigious in international football, will now be held from June 11 to July 11, 2021. Sports correspondent Matt Leighton explains what this means for the other major sporting event this year, the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Will the Games begin? Billions at risk for Tokyo 2020
In the world of sports, it’s the question on everyone’s mind: Will coronavirus lead to the cancellation of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo? With the Games still more than four months away, it’s too early to say. But one thing is certain, the stakes are high and there’s no plan B, says CNNMoney Switzerland’s Matt Leighton.
Off the racecourse, White Turf goes green
The menu at this year’s horse races featured more vegan and vegetarian options, a sign that the trend toward a meat-free diet is catching on even at one of Switzerland’s oldest sporting traditions. In another change, food stations replaced waiters.
