Many investors park their surplus money in debt schemes in an attempt to earn higher returns than Bank FDs. However the recent incident of Franklin Templeton MF winding down six of its debt schemes has dented investor sentiment and sparked speculation about the safety of their investments.

The news came as a shocker to the investors because the six schemes, the fund house, and the fund manager had a good performance record. Investors in the wound up debt schemes of FTMF are now left with no choice but to wait for the fund house make repayments.

If you are one of them, surely you want to know about the timeline of payouts from the respective schemes.

Here is what you should know first...

Before returning the money to unitholders, the fund will have to repay the borrowings by the respective schemes that was taken to fund the heightened level of redemptions. Keep in mind that the repayment of borrowings does not impact the value of money to be returned to the unit holders, though it can delay the start of pay out to unitholders.

The repayment of the borrowings that the fund has taken, along with the cash flows it receives in the respective schemes based on the maturity of the underlying securities in the portfolio as well as coupon receipts will determine the payout to the unitholders.

Moreover, the fund will seek pre-payment from issuers of the underlying securities and will look to sell portfolio holdings in secondary market at fair value.

Table 1: Maturity profile of wound up FTMF schemes

Franklin India Ultra Short Bond Fund (FIUBF) and Franklin India Low Duration Fund (FILDF) are the schemes with shorter maturity. If you are an investor in this scheme, you may expect a significant payout within 2-3 years. However, to recover the entire amount you may have to wait up to 5 years.

If you are wondering why a scheme with average maturity of just 0.44 years and 1.45 years will take around 5 years to repay the entire amount?

This is because the maturity of some underlying securities is much longer (around 4-5 years), even though the schemes belong to low duration category. Additionally, the schemes have borrowings in the range of 6.5% and 8.5% respectively, which have to be repaid first.

Whereas, if you are an investor in Franklin India Dynamic Accrual Fund (FIDA), Franklin India Short Term Income Fund (FISTIP), Franklin India Credit Risk Fund (FICRF), and Franklin India Income Opportunities Fund (FIIOF) your wait will be longer. These schemes primarily invest in medium to long duration securities.

These funds had to sell a number of their short term and liquid securities in the portfolio to meet redemptions. Hence, to get a significant payout from these schemes you will have to wait at least 4-5 years. The year wise expected cumulative cash flows is given in the table below.

Notably, FIIOF is the longest duration fund from among the six funds that have been wound up. It will only be able to repay a very small portion (5%) in the next two years.

Another key reason that could delay the payout from these schemes is the high borrowing rate. FISTIP has 28% of its assets as borrowings, FIIOF has 26%; while FICRF also has significant 16% as borrowings. Furthermore, factors such as credit issues or payment delays faced by any of the investee companies could negatively impact cash flows.

Table 2: Cash flows expected by FTMF across different time period

Many of the securities with longer maturities have regular interim cash flows and features such as interest rate resets or call/ put options, which significantly reduce the effective maturity and the same has been factored into the calculation of the Macaulay Duration.

FTMF said that it would actively explore opportunities with a goal to facilitate repayment prior to the maturity of the portfolio investments. To do this it will seek prepayment from the issuers of the underlying securities and look to sell the securities in the secondary market.

However, the current market scenario is rife with risk aversion and illiquidity. The fact that wound up schemes have high holding of lower rated securities, FTMF will have to wait for the market conditions to go back to normal to liquidate the portfolio at the earliest, without causing value erosion for investors.

[Read: RBI Steps in to Take Some Pain Off Mutual Funds. Will It Help?]

Way ahead for debt fund investors

Keep in mind that debt funds are not risk-free. Investment in debt funds carry various risks relating to liquidity, credit quality, and interest rate. Therefore, before investing in debt funds understand the various risks involved and invest in schemes where the portfolio risk aligns with your own risk appetite and financial objective.

In this market environment, it would be preferable to invest in instruments issued by government and public sector enterprises, and stay away from those having high exposure to private issuers.

At PersonalFN, we arrive at top rated funds using our SMART Score Model. If you wish to select worthy mutual fund schemes, I recommend you to subscribe to PersonalFN's unbiased premium research service, FundSelect.

Additionally, as a bonus, you get access to PersonalFN's popular debt mutual fund service, DebtSelect.

If you are serious about investing in a rewarding mutual fund scheme, Subscribe now!

Author: Divya Grover

This article first appeared on PersonalFN here.

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PersonalFN is a Mumbai based personal finance firm offering Financial Planning and Mutual Fund Research services.

Disclaimer:
The views mentioned above are of the author only. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Equitymaster do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader. Please read the detailed Terms of Use of the web site.

The Indian equity markets are on a rollercoaster with the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. It's been a nerve-racking experience for investors and wealth has been eroded.

As we continue to battle COVID-19 with lockdown 3.0, on a year-to-date basis the S&P BSE Sensex is down -23.9% as of May 5, 2020, (see Table 1 below).

Table 1: Wealth erosion across market cap segments

Balanced Hybrid Funds that are supposed to be balanced and protect downside risk have gone on to erode investors' wealth by seldom maintaining a 'fair balance' and displaying unreasonable love and exuberance for equities plus for taxation reason -- to be treated as an equity-oriented fund. (see Table 2 below).

Similarly, many multi-asset funds that hold the mandate to invest with allocation across three asset classes i.e. equity, debt and gold with minimum 10% in each have posted negative returns (see Table 2 below).

Table 2: Report card of Balanced Hybrid Funds and Multi-Asset Funds

ICICI Prudential Multi-Asset Fund, HDFC Multi-Asset Fund, and UTI Multi-Asset Fund, in particular, have not lived up to the expectation and the trust evinced by investors (going by their AUM size). Not just are their recent returns amidst the outbreak of COVID-19 crisis unappealing, but even the 3-year and 5-year compounded annulaised return is nothing to vie for. This is because they haven't been able to sensibly allocate to the three key asset classes: equity, debt and gold, and play the investment strategy astutely.

On the other hand, the Quantum Multi-Asset Fund of Funds (QMAFOF) has depicted true balance backed by its sensible investment strategy arrested the downside risk and relatively fared better vis-a-vis its peers over 3-year and 5-year time periods.

The Quantum Multi-Asset under normal circumstances by maintaining 25%-65% exposure to units of equity schemes (vide Quantum Long Term Equity Value Fund, Quantum Nifty ETF); 25%-65% exposure to units of debt and money market instruments (vide Quantum Liquid Fund, Quantum Dynamic Bond Fund); 10%-20% in units of gold schemes (vide Quantum Gold ETF); and up to 5% in money market instruments, Short-term Corporate Debt securities, Tri-Party Repo, Repo/ Reverse Repo in Government securities and Treasury Bills has been able to generate modest, yet appealing returns than the rest, and mitigated the risk by diversifying across asset classes: equity, debt and gold.

Historically it is proved that all classes never move in the same direction -- up or down -- at the same time. There could be times when certain asset classes perform better than the other and/or show an inverse relation to another (see Table 3).

Table 3: Here's how various asset classes fared per calendar year

If your multi-asset fund strategically allocates between equity, debt, and gold sensing the pulse of each asset class, maintains balance, and takes calculated risk sensible wealth creation is possible.

In the on-going COVID-19 crisis, equities will remain volatile, but given the sharp correction, there are and will be, enough long-term value-buying opportunities with a decent margin of safety.

Gold in such uncertain times would continue to gain all the attention. Easy monetary policy action and accommodative stance to address growth concerns, a record-high debt-to-GDP ratio, trade war tensions, geopolitical tensions, the potential risk to the inflation trajectory mainly due to food prices, increased stock market volatility, and the U.S. Presidential election in November 2020 are some of the factors expected to work in favour of gold. The precious yellow metal will demonstrate its trait of being a portfolio diversifier, a hedge (when other asset classes fail to post alluring returns), and command a store of value.

And speaking of debt & money market instruments, with exposure to highly rated papers and predominantly government securities, will act as a stabilizer.

A unique aspect of QMAFOF is that it has always taken relative valuations between asset classes into consideration, such as:

• Price-to-Earnings relative to historical averages;
• The relationship between earning yield to bond yield relative to historical averages; and
• Macroeconomic factors prevailing globally and within India

It is this wide-ranging and sensible approach that has helped QMAFOF to protect against the downside risk and reward its investors better than many of its peers. The fund managers, Mr Chirag Mehta (MMS - Finance, M.Com, and CAIA with over 13 years' experience in research and investments) and Mr Nilesh Shetty (B.Com, MMS -Finance, and CFA with collectively 16 years in equity markets), have strategically moved in and out of the aforesaid asset classes wisely recognising their upswings and downswings.

[Read: Why Tactically Invest Across Asset Classes amidst COVID-19 with Quantum Multi-Asset Fund Of Funds]

The choice is completely yours: to stay invested in a 'Balanced Hybrid Fund'/ Multi-Asset Fund that does not show true balance and keep harming your health and wealth; or make a sensible move and switch over to Quantum Multi Asset Fund of Funds that is truly balanced and has sensibly generated wealth for investors without the shrieking experience of a rollercoaster.

Wish to invest in Quantum Multi Asset Fund of Funds? Click here.

Happy Investing!

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Author: Rounaq Neroy

This article first appeared on PersonalFN here.

PersonalFN is a Mumbai based personal finance firm offering Financial Planning and Mutual Fund Research services.

Disclaimer:
The views mentioned above are of the author only. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Equitymaster do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader. Please read the detailed Terms of Use of the web site.

India tennis ace Sania Mirza celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary along with husband and veteran Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik on April 12, 2020. It was an auspicious day as it was also Easter

Sania Mirza took to social media site Instagram to share a few pictures with her husband Shoaib Malik from their big day back in 2010. She also wished him a "Happy Anniversary".

Sania Mirza also showed her fans a glimpse of her humorous side as she made a tongue-in-cheek statement in her post comparing the two contrasting photos by saying "Expectations vs reality". Sania Mirza wrote: Happy Anniversary @realshoaibmalik. A decade of being married looks like this!! Expectation vs reality. Swipe right for reality." Take a look at the post below. 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

Happy Anniversary @realshoaibmalik 😌ðŸ¤Â— A decade of being married looks like this!! Expectation vs reality 😅😂 Swipe right for reality âž¡ï¸Â

A post shared by Sania Mirza (@mirzasaniar) onApr 12, 2020 at 3:55am PDT

Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik tied the knot in April 2010 in Hyderabad in a grand manner. Sania Mirza gave birth to a baby boy named Izhaan in October 2018. After giving birth to her child in October 2018, Sania Mirza returned to the court in January 2020.

She clinched the women's doubles title at Hobart International, pairing up with Nadiia Kichenok, in her comeback competition.

Sania recently shared a photo of her son with a tennis racquet in hand, looking confused. "I am pretty sure he's thinking what the fuss is all about? #IzhaanMirzaMalik," Sania said in her Twitter post.

Sania last played at the Qatar Open in February. She has helped raise Rs 1.25 crore in one week which will help close to 1 lakh people in need during the 21-day lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Inputs from IANS

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Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has apparently followed through on a promise to help people going hungry in the coronavirus shutdown, with social media images showing boxes of essential items prepped for delivery.

The controversial Kyrgios, infamously outspoken and known for his fiery on-court antics, said on Monday he would personally drop food on doorsteps after COVID-19 restrictions closed down entire industries, forcing huge numbers of people out of work across Australia. People queueing for welfare payments across the country have been likened to scenes from the Great Depression. "Please don't go to sleep with an empty stomach," Kyrgios, the world number 40, posted on Instagram Monday. "Don't be afraid or embarrassed to send me a private message. I will be more than happy to share whatever I have.

"Even just for a box of noodles, a loaf of bread or milk. I will drop it off at your doorstep, no questions asked!" he said in a post that attracted almost 100,000 likes. His mother, Norlaila Kyrgios, posted on Instagram over the weekend a photo of a table laden with food -- including bread, fruit and canned goods -- with the caption "dining room or food distribution centre".

Images of Canberra-based tennis star's Instagram stories shared on News Corp websites showed boxes of essentials captioned "deliveries in progress". It comes just months after the 24-year-old led a bushfire relief campaign that raised millions of dollars. Kyrgios gave Aus$200 (US$125) for every ace he hit across his home tennis summer, which ran until the end of the Australian Open. Other players and Australian Open organisers jumped on board the fundraising drive, also contributing large sums to people affected by the deadly fires.

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While sports stars across the globe are trying their hands at doing things they never got to do thanks to the Coronavirus lockdown, Bulgarian tennis star Grigor Dimitrov has revealed he will be taking up a course at the Harvard Business School soon.

In a column for the ATP Tour website, Grigor wrote: "I'm starting a course at Harvard Business School in a few weeks. It's something I've always wanted to do. I loved being in school, but haven't had the chance to experience it to the extent that I would have wanted to. Now I have the time to do something new and different."

Grigor, who is currently in California, USA, during quarantine, added: "I decided to stay on the west coast of the US once it was announced that Indian Wells was cancelled. Tennis players are creatures of habit, so I still make sure to structure my day. Go to bed on time, wake up early, be productive in the morning. I'm a crazy fanatic when it comes to laundry and have been doing that twice a day."

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Canadian tennis ace Eugenie Bouchard, 26, has agreed to go on a date with a random online fan for a charitable cause. The fan will pay her an amount which she will donate to feed hospital staff battling the Coronavirus pandemic.

After Genie put out a message on Twitter that she felt like "quarantine would be a lot more fun with a boyfriend," she received many messages from fans.

So, in an Instagram Live chat with sportscaster Allie LaForce, she decided to pick a viewer named Bob, who initially offered to pay GBP 400 (approx Rs 36,000) for the date.

LaForce however, upped the stakes further, demanding GBP 2,410 (approx R2 lakh), the expenditure to feed hospital staff on the tennis player's behalf. Bob agreed and Genie said yes. Interestingly, Genie asked Bob to get some toilet rolls along, to which, Bob agreed but offered an extra GBP 800 (approx Rs 72,000) if she spoke in a British accent.

An embarrassed Genie replied: "Why are you doing this to me, Bob? I'm going to say yes but I have no skill whatsoever in imitating accents."

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With the world coming to a standstill due to the coronavirus outbreak, sporting events across the globe have either been cancelled or suspended and Indias star tennis player Sania Mirza cannot wait to go back to the tennis court.

Taking to Twitter, she wrote: "Waiting to play tennis again like." Earlier, Sania had made her displeasure known as there has been a rise in the number of 'cooking' posts that celebrities are putting out on social media as they stay indoors to fight the coronavirus outbreak. Sania feels posting such pictures in these times is unwanted.

Waiting to play tennis again like 🎾 ⏳
📸- @avigowariker pic.twitter.com/RUZaNRjHHf

— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) April 14, 2020

Taking to Twitter, she wrote: "Aren't we done with posting cooking videos and food pictures yet ? Just spare a thought - there are hundreds of thousands of ppl, specially in our side of the world starving to death and struggling to find food once a day if they are lucky."

After giving birth to her child in October 2018, Sania returned to the court in January this year. She clinched the women's doubles title at Hobart International, pairing up with Nadiia Kichenok, in her comeback competition.

Sania recently shared a photo of her son with a tennis racquet in hand, looking confused. "I am pretty sure he's thinking what the fuss is all about? #IzhaanMirzaMalik". Sania said in her Twitter post.

Sania last played at the Qatar Open in February. She has helped raise Rs 1.25 crore in one week which will help close to 1 lakh people in need during the 21-day lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

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Wimbledon champion Simona Halep, 28, is pretty shocked to see a global lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. "Not even in my worst nightmares could I think that the globe can stop in such a way. For me, it's a shock because I'm pretty young and haven't gone through too many tough times. This is something that belongs to a fantastic realm. They have stopped travelling, flight in order to avoid affecting our health and well-being. Maybe it's the best interdiction," Simona, 28, told Romanian TV show Garantat 100%.

The former World No. 1, who is currently in isolation at her Bucharest home, is taking "maximum care" to avoid contracting the virus, fearing it could affect her lungs.

"In the beginning, I had this fear but then analysed the situation and figured out that if you protect yourself, everything will be OK but I'm afraid for those with health issues. I fear this virus because even if we are healthy and have good immunity–we may resist it–but it [the virus] will leave us with a serious lung affection. That's why I have decided to take maximum care of myself. That's why I have decided to take maximum care of myself," added Simona.

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British tennis star Jamie Murray, 33, believes that he's the most fashionable person in his family. Jamie, the elder brother of former British No. 1 Andy Murray, 32, recently signed on as the brand ambassador for Edinburgh-based Andrew Brookes Tailoring.

Jamie hailed England football legend David Beckham's fashion sense. "David Beckham is my style icon. He always has his game face on. I'm sure a lot of effort goes into making sure he looks on point," said Jamie in an interview to The Herald Scotland.

About his own style, Jamie said: "[My style is] Pretty casual. With travelling so much, there's a limit to what you can take in your suitcase. I tend to keep it quite simple with jeans and sneakers, some t-shirts and hoodies."

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Rafael Nadal thinks the global nature of tennis means there is little chance tournaments will go ahead any time soon as sport continues to be paralysed by the coronavirus pandemic. Novak Djokovic also anticipates a lengthy delay before tennis can be played even behind closed doors, with the world number one expecting players to have to wait a "few months". The French Open, which Nadal has won a record 12 times, has been postponed until September, shortly after the US Open, while Wimbledon was cancelled earlier this month for the first time since World War II.

But the prospect of either grand slams at Roland Garros or Flushing Meadows being played with fans appears increasingly remote. "Tennis is a global sport," Nadal told Spanish radio station Onda Cero on Wednesday night. "We go from country to country and a lot of people have to move around.
"It seems difficult to me for any big tournament to be played in the short or medium term."

Football's major leagues are preparing to play behind closed doors for several weeks to complete their seasons and avoid losing considerable sums of money from broadcasting contracts. But tennis tournaments are more reliant on fans for their income, making it more complicated to stage competitions in empty stadiums. "It is not an easy decision," Djokovic told the same programme.

"I am ready but I think we have to wait a few months." "If you could play behind closed doors, I would be delighted but I think it's very difficult," added Nadal.

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Bollywood actress and Miss Universe 2000 Lara Dutta turned 42 years old on April 16, 2020. Lara Dutta's birthday celebrations, however, were not stopped due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Lara Dutta's husband Mahesh Bhupathi was the one to bring in her birthday and host what was called a 'virtual birthday party' at their home in Mumbai.

Mahesh Bhupathi also took to Instagram to share a couple of photos and a video of Lara Dutta's birthday celebrations along with their daughter Samaira. The couple also had their close friends on a video conference to wish Lara Dutta on her birthday. Mahesh Bhupathi described how the part went and also had a fun caption to go with it. Virtual birthday party done .. Happy Birthday, Lara. May God continue to bless you with this amazing husband and incredible kid for another few decades atleast. Yes, we ate well today." Here's Mahesh Bhupathi's post on Instagram.

 

 

 

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Virtual Birthday Party done .. Happy Birthday @larabhupathi . May God Continue to Bless you with this amazing husband and incredible kid for another few decades at least 😍😍 . Ps .. yes we ate well today . Thanks for the amazing cake @hakunamatatapatisserie

A post shared by Mahesh Bhupathi (@mbhupathi) onApr 16, 2020 at 6:50am PDT

Lara Dutta made her Bollywood debut in 2002 with the superhit film Andaz alongside Akshay Kumar and Priyanka Chopra, who also made her debut. Both actresses won the Filmfare award for Best Female Debut.

Lara Dutta has since appeared in a list of Bollywood hits such as Masti, No Entry, Housefull, Partner, Bhagam Bhaag and Don 2. She also ventured into production with the film Chalo Dilli in 2010.

Mahesh Bhupathi and Lara Dutta got engaged in September 2010 and tied the knot in February 2011. In January 2012, Lara Dutta and Mahesh Bhupathi welcomed their daughter Samaira into the world.

Russian tennis beauty Maria Sharapova turns 33 on Sunday, but the celebrations already began for the former World No. 1, a day earlier. On Saturday, she shared this picture of a cake with her four million Instagram followers and captioned it: "This little piece of cake goodness arrived at our doorstep this morning [happy early birthday to meeee] and didn't make it past noon."

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) onApr 17, 2020 at 5:18pm PDT

Originally known as a German tree cake, the Japanese got some skin in the game and crafted several versions of their own. It's one of my favourite morning coffee indulgences. Thank you, Yutaka!!"

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Novak Djokovic said that he, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are organising aid for players struggling with the paralysis of the game due to the Coronavirus pandemic. "I spoke to Roger and Rafa a few days ago," Djokovic, the World No. 1, said in an Instagram chat with friend and rival Stan Wawrinka on Saturday.

No support from federation
"We had a long conversation about the near future of tennis, what is going to happen, how we can contribute and how we can help especially lower-ranked players, who are obviously struggling the most. The majority of the players who are ranked between 200, 250 in the world, and the 700th or 1,000th do not have federation support, do not have sponsors. They are completely independent and left alone," he said. "Guys who are ranked between 200-250, especially to 700...are thinking of leaving tennis right now."

He said players, the ATP and the four Grand Slams "would all get together and will contribute to a player relief fund that ATP will distribute." "It looks, hopefully, that there will something between $3 million (2.75 million euros) and $4.5 million that is going to be distributed," he estimated. Djokovic said the cash could come from the prize money for the season-ending World Tour Finals or the final bonus pools for top players.

Lack of tournaments
"Maybe if we don't have any tournaments this season, we can take a certain percentage from our prize money from Australian Open in January," he said. "These guys are the grass roots of tennis. The future of tennis. We need to show them they still can rely on support of the top guys." According to reports in tennis media, Djokovic, as president of the ATP Players' Council, which also includes Federer and Nadal, proposed to members that players in the Top 100 for singles and the Top 20 in doubles contribute according to their rankings.

The proposed scale runs from $30,000 for a Top-5 player to $5,000 for those between 51 and 100. That would raise approximately $1 million and the ATP would make a similar contribution. On Friday, ATP chief Andrea Gaudenzi echoed the call for unity on the tour website. "Our guys are at home, obviously unable to play, unable to earn money and financially struggling, so we will try to help," he said.

"I've been quite touched by the top players who reached out, the big names expressing their desire of helping the lower-ranked players and putting those players first. We are also talking with the Grand Slams about it. They may want to join in the effort. I think it would be a great message for the sport." World tennis has been at a standstill since the beginning of March and will not resume until mid-July at the earliest following the postponement of Roland Garros and the cancellation of Wimbledon.

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Former US Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 in March, said Saturday that he has now tested negative for the virus. "All right everyone, great news for me and my wife, Melissa, we both tested negative for COVID-19," McEnroe said in a video posted on Twitter. "We just got the tests back this morning.

The 53-year-old younger brother of seven-time Grand Slam singles champion John McEnroe, said he was tested at the same drive-up facility in suburban Westchester County, New York, where he obtained his initial test. He said the procedure was even more efficient, with more technicians testing six lines of patients instead of two. "I know we're talking a lot about testing on TV, we need more of them, we all know that. It was great to see this going so well for us and for New York state in general," said McEnroe, who quarantined at home during his illness. New York state has seen more than 12,000 deaths from COVID-19, although the state reported its lowest one-day death toll in two weeks on Saturday of 540. McEnroe said that as someone who had recovered from the virus he hoped to be able to contribute to the fight against the disease. "Now I'll try to go for the antibody test when that's available to give my blood, my plasma," he said.

Researchers are studying treatments in which coronavirus patients are given blood plasma from recovered individuals who have developed antibodies that can fight the disease. "Still thinking about everyone on the front lines," McEnroe concluded. "We've got to stay the course." McEnroe, who had first tweeted a video announcing his diagnosis from the basement of his home, was outdoors in the sunshine on Saturday. McEnroe won his only ATP singles title in 1995 at Sydney. He captured a Grand Slam doubles crown at the 1989 French Open alongside compatriot Jim Grabb. He was captain of the 2007 US Davis Cup squad that beat Russia 4-1 in the final at Portland, Oregon.

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Former Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki has turned to baking during weekends during the Coronavirus lockdown.

On Sunday, the former World No. 1 Instagrammed this picture to her 1.4 million followers, of a red velvet cake she baked and wrote: "Weekdays are for fitness. Weekends are for baking [and eating]. First time baking a layered red velvet cake with homemade vanilla cream cheese frosting! I think it was a success!" To this, her NBA star hubby David Lee replied: "Definitely a success! Two pieces in and I'm ready for a nap."

 

 

 

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Weekdays are for fitness🏃🏼‍♀ï¸ÂðŸ‹ðŸ¼‍♀ï¸Â, weekends are for baking👩🏼‍🍳 (and eating😋) - first time baking a layered red velvet cake with homemade vanilla cream cheese frosting! I think it was a success! 😍

A post shared by Caroline Wozniacki (@carowozniacki) onApr 18, 2020 at 12:24pm PDT

Caroline Wozniacki is the first female from a Scandinavian country to be the number one player in WTA rankings. Wozniacki has won a total of 30 singles titles in her entire career. Wozniacki's highest point in her tennis career came when she won the 2019 Australian Open. Her career statistics are 635-264 with a winning percentage of 70.6.

Caroline Wozniacki is married to NBA champion David Lee. They tied the knot in June 2019.

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Novak Djokovic has said he would be against a compulsory Coronavirus vaccination if it became a requirement for tennis players to travel to tournaments. "Personally, I'm against vaccination. I wouldn't like that someone forces me to get a vaccine in order to be able to travel," the World No. 1 said late on Sunday.

The Serbian star was speaking from Spain, where he is in lockdown with his family, in a video conference held on his Facebook for Orthodox Easter. "We [players] will have to travel. I think it will be the number one challenge," he said.

"If it [vaccination] will become compulsory what will happen? I will have to take a decision," on whether to get a vaccine or not, he said. "This is my opinion at the moment. Whether it will change I don't know."

No vaccine currently
There is currently no vaccine for the virus that has claimed some 1,65,000 lives around the globe, though labs around the world are racing to develop a treatment. Like the rest of the sporting world, tennis has been on pause since early March, with the ATP and WTA Tours suspended until mid-July at the earliest and Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War II.

'No play before Sept, Oct'
Djokovic estimated tournaments would not restart "before September or October". "The season will officially restart when everyone will be 100 per cent certain that people can return, that there is no risk, that people are resistant to the virus and this takes time." Tournaments with travel limited to one country or a region could be possible, he said.

17
No. of Grand Slam singles titles won by Novak Djokovic

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Rafael Nadal on Monday expressed his frustration that tennis players remain unable to practise due to the coronavirus pandemic, while Roger Federer revealed he was happy with his recovery from knee surgery. The Spanish government has extended the country's state of alarm until May 9, with the entire population confined to their homes except a small number working in specific sectors, leaving Nadal perplexed as to why he can't train. "It's true I don't understand very well because we cannot play tennis when many people are going to work and even more so in our sport, where we keep at a large and safe distance and we play on opposite sides of the court," world number two Nadal said during an Instagram Live.

"But I understand that we are in a very critical situation, that the government is dealing with something unprecedented and I also understand that the last thing they think of is who can train and who cannot train. "I understand the situation and obviously there are many things that are not logical but you have to accept the rules." Nadal treated tennis fans to an Instagram Live in which he spoke to both Roger Federer and Andy Murray about their experiences during lockdown.

The men's and women's tours have been halted due to the virus, while Wimbledon was cancelled last month for the first time since World War II and Nadal's favourite Grand Slam the French Open was pushed back to September 20. "I am not playing tennis, I do not have a court at home and I miss it a little," Nadal said. "I am sticking to my physical routines.

From the gym of my academy they were able to bring me some machines when lockdown began so I try to work a little in the morning, a little in the afternoon. "It is very important to have both the head and the body focused and it is what I am trying to do at all times." Federer meanwhile gave an update on his right knee after the 20-time major winner decided to undergo surgery in February.

"I've been hitting a bit against a wall, (doing) rehab with the knee," Federer said. "It's OK, I had a really good first six weeks, then it was a bit slower, now it's getting better again but I have plenty of time. "There is no stress, no rush. If there is anything positive (about being in lockdown) that's the only thing really. I just want the knee to be good, it doesn't matter when I return."

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Canadian tennis ace Eugenie Bouchard's tendency to pick dates online is set to become the theme of an upcoming Hollywood romantic comedy.

According to report in The Canadian Press, a script based on Eugenie's date with one of her Twitter followers, John Goehrke, who won a bet on the 2017 Super Bowl, is already being worked upon.

The couple continued to meet thereafter for more dates. However, this story has an update with Eugenie, 26, recently deciding to go on another random date with an online fan.

During an Instagram chat last week, Eugenie, agreed to go on a date with a fan named Bob, who donated GBP 3,210 (Rs 2.7 lakh) to help feed hospital staff battling the Coronavirus pandemic.

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American tennis player Sloane Stephens has started a fundraiser for students and teachers in Haiti in association with her fiance Jozy Altidore's JA Foundation. "Can you imagine climbing 200 flights of stairs every day simply to access clean water, and education, and healthcare? The children and families in Marre-a-Coiffe, Haiti do just that. I'm taking the Hike for Haiti Challenge to raise awareness and funds to help provide students and teachers in Haiti vital support.

Jozy Altidore

From April 17 to May 17, we'll be hiking 200 flights of stairs in solidarity," Sloanne, 27, says on her fundraising page. Meanwhile, Jozy remarks: "In these times of adversity and social distancing, it's so important to find ways to virtually stay connected to others in our community, and to stay healthy and active at home. The JA Foundation will be matching funds donated to my team page up to $2,500, so your contribution will have double the impact."

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The ATP and WTA, along with the International Tennis Federation and organisers of the four Grand Slams (Tennis Australia, the Federation Francaise de Tennis, All England Club and United States Tennis Association) are planning create a 'Player Relief Programme' to provide assistance to the coronavirus-impacted players.

"With so much uncertainty around when it will be safe to restart the professional tennis tours, the international governing bodies of world tennis can confirm they are in discussions to create a Player Relief Programme to provide much-needed assistance to the players who are particularly affected during this time of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis," ITF said in a statement on Tuesday.

"These discussions have been progressing well and details are being finalised with an announcement expected in the near future. Already agreed is that the ATP and the WTA will administer the Player Relief Programme and all seven stakeholders will make a significant contribution," the statement added. IFT further said: "We know that for our players, as well as for so many people worldwide, there is the need for financial support for those who need it most and we look forward to finalising and sharing the further details of a plan in due course."

The London-based governing body has also announced the creation of player panels for those competing on its World Tennis Tour. "The panel will provide a forum for players to provide their input and have their say on how the tour is run and will be a further opportunity for the ITF to engage with the player community," ITF said. The men's and women's players will each elect a panel of seven current player members, who will have voting rights.

Men's players with an ATP ranking of below 350 and women's tennis players with a WTA ranking not higher than 151 will be allowed to nominate a fellow player or stand in the election.

All professional tennis activities remain suspended till July 13 due to coronavirus outbreak which has so far claimed more 1.7 lives across the world.

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20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer came up with a radical proposal regarding the future of international tennis. The Swiss superstar suggested a merger between men's tennis body ATP and women's governing body WTA.

Federer believes this could be the right time for a merger between ATP and WTA for the betterment of the sport. The former World No.1 also explained that he isn't asking for competitions being merged but only the governing bodies.

"Am I the only one thinking that now is the time for men's and women's tennis to be united and come together as one?" Federer wrote on his Twitter handle.

"I am not talking about merging competition on the court, but merging the two governing bodies (ATP and WTA) that oversee the men's and women's professional tours."

"It's too confusing for the fans when there are different ranking systems, different logos, different websites, different tournament categories," he wrote further.

The entire sporting calender of the world is reeling due to Covid-19 pandemic and tennis is not different. The season has been put on hold with multiple tournaments being postponed or cancelled.

The second slam of the year, French Open, has been postponed from May to September while the Wimbledon was cancelled earlier this month in the wake of coronavirus crisis. Wimbledon had only been cancelled twice before, because of World War 1 and World War 2.

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WTA founder Billie Jean King joined Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on Wednesday in suggesting now is the time to merge the men's ATP and women's body into one umbrella organisation to oversee the two professional tennis tours. Federer, holder of the men's record of 20 Grand Slams, was the first to raise the notion on Twitter, triggering an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from King and Nadal.

"Just wondering...am I the only one thinking that now is the time for men's and women's tennis to be united and come together as one?" Federer said. "I am not talking about merging competition on the court, but merging the two governing bodies [ATP and WTA] that oversee the men's and women's professional tours." Trailblazer King, who was a part of establishing the WTA in 1973 and was one of the 'Original 9' on the tour, said her support for the idea dates back decades.

Common voice needed

"I agree, and have been saying so since the early 1970s. One voice, women and men together, has long been my vision for tennis. The WTA on its own was always Plan B. I'm glad we are on the same page. Let's make it happen. #OneVoice," she tweeted. Nadal, who has 19 Grand Slam titles, supported his long-time rival's proposition. "Hey @rogerfederer as you know per our discussions I completely agree that it would be great to get out of this world crisis with the union of men's and women's tennis in one only organisation," he said.

Federer and Nadal argued by a merger tennis could emerge stronger from the Coronavirus lockdown which has seen the sport shut down, with Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War II and the French Open pushed back to the end of September. "It probably should have happened a long time ago, but maybe now is really the time. These are tough times in every sport and we can come out of this with two weakened bodies or one stronger body," Federer wrote. He said the current system was "too confusing for the fans when there are different ranking systems, different logos, different websites, different tournament categories".

Talks underway: Wawrinka

Later, three-time Grand Slam winner Stanislas Wawrinka claimed discussions are underway regarding the move with the ATP's chairman Andrea Gaudenzi. "It was not just a comment like that, there is more talk behind that. Gaudenzi at the ATP was already talking about it," he said during an Instagram Live with 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert. Australian star Nick Kyrgios and two-time women's Grand Slam champion Simona Halep also said they were behind the idea.

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The U.S. Tennis Association is warning folks: "No Bryan Brothers chest bumps." That was among the suggestions from the USTA on Wednesday, when it offered return-to-play guidelines to help players and people running tennis facilities know when " and how " the sport should resume at the amateur level as coronavirus lockdown restrictions ease.

The USTA thinks it will be safe to again play tennis "in some cities and states sooner than in others." One of the recommendations is to maintain social distancing by staying 6 feet apart from other people " and, therefore, to avoiding playing doubles, because it "could lead to incidental contact and unwanted proximity." The group that runs the U.S. Open went on to add: "If you do play doubles, avoid all incidental contact, no Bryan Brothers chest bumps and no whispering to each other from a close distance to strategize."

American twins Bob and Mike Bryan have won 16 Grand Slam titles in men's doubles together and celebrate wins by jumping simultaneously and bumping chests. All professional tennis has been suspended at least until mid-July. The U.S. Open is still scheduled to begin main-draw play in New York on Aug. 31.

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It is said that a friend in need is a friend indeed, and tennis champion Serena Williams is happy to be just that. Recently, when she was asked in an online interview by model Naomi Campbell to speak about good friend Meghan Markle (wife of Prince Harry), Serena sidestepped a question to protect her friend from any possible negative publicity.

In February, Meghan and Harry parted ways with the British Royal family and moved to USA, making global headlines. "Are you happy that your girlfriend Meghan Markle has moved to America," Naomi asked Serena. "Don't know what you're talking about," Serena replied. Naomi persisted: "They're on the West Coast. It's a big deal!" But Serena stuck to her stand: "Never heard of her, don't know her."

Serena and Meghan's friendship dates baack to 2010 when they first met at a Super Bowl party. She also attended her royal wedding in 2018 and even hosted Meghan's baby shower. However, the tennis champ has always worried about the negative press surrounding Meghan.

At a Wimbledon press conference last year, Serena had said: "There's negative media out there. Any time I see her [Meghan] name attached to anything, I don't read it. She couldn't be a better friend to me. Low moments, high moments, she's always there, and that's all I want to be to her."

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Former tennis champion and convicted child rapist Bob Hewitt on Friday walked out of jail after he was granted parole, the South African correctional services ministry said. Australia-born Hewitt was convicted in May 2015 of raping two girls aged 12 and 13 in the early 1980s, and of indecently assaulting a 17-year-old girl in 1994. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment and has been incarcerated at a jail in the coastal Eastern Cape province.

Hewitt, 80, served the minimum sentence period required before he was considered for parole. "We can confirm the parole placement and the parolee is now home," the ministry spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo told AFP. The disgraced former tennis star's previous attempts to get his sentence reduced were thrown out by the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court in 2016.

Born in Australia, Hewitt has lived in South Africa for most of his life. The former multiple Gram Slam doubles champion's name was removed from the International Tennis Hall of Fame after a series of sexual abuse allegations against him surfaced in 2013.

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Former Slovak tennis star Daniela Hantuchova has launched her own podcast, The Real DNA, where she plans to have people who have inspired her, as guests on her show. After retiring in 2017, Daniela, 37, has been a tennis commentator for the past couple of years.

"The reason behind launching a podcast was that I love to communicate and learn from all the inspiring people I have in my life. I thought it would be nice to able to share their stories and their real DNA with our listeners. At the end of the day, one of the things I cherish the most in life is being able to sit down and have a cup of coffee with people I love, my family, friends, and people I admire, and listen to their stories and their experiences in life," she was quoted as saying by Tennis World USA.

"I believe the most inspiring people I've encountered in life share certain core values as humans that have helped get them where they are, whether in sports or somewhere else. I want my listeners to get to know these people and understand those core values," she added.

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Australia's World No. 1 tennis ace Ashleigh Barty, 24, likes to see the positives in life even in the most negative situations.

The French Open champ, currently at home Down Under due to the Coronavirus-caused lockdown, says there is no point in stressing over the uncontrollables.

"Everyone is in a unique situation, depending on what country they're from and all the governing bodies making different decisions. It's not a time to worry or stress about because it's something out of our control. There's always a silver lining, there's always something we could be grateful for, to be happy about. For me, it's being able to spend time with my family," Ashleigh told the WTA Tour website.

Meanwhile, Ashleigh has kept in touch with some of her friends on the Tour. "I spoke to Kiki [Bertens] and Jule [Goerges] and Simona [Halep] and Petra [Kvitova]. It's just to check it they and their families are fine. Firstly, it's always about health and looking after yourself and your family, and then sports is a bonus. This is a time where we can really appreciate the little things."

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Rafael Nadal said on Sunday that he was "very pessimistic" over a full resumption of the professional tennis circuit which has been halted by the coronavirus pandemic. "From my point of view, I'm very pessimistic that the circuit can resume a normal activity," said the world number two in a virtual chat origanized by the Spanish Federation of Tennis (RFET) involving the team that won last year's Davis Cup.

"In tennis, you need to travel every week, stay in hotels, go to different countries," Nadal said. "Even if it we play without an audience, to organise any event you need a lot of people involved, which cannot be ignored. At an international level I see a serious problem." Nadal said he hoped that restrictions can be relaxed gradually, but added that he was aware that the global health situation is serious. "We have had a very tough month and a half, with many irreparable losses as well as others that are less important that will still bring great suffering to society, I hope only for a few months, at the economic level," he said.

"Many people are going to lose their jobs." "These are sad moments when you see so many people dying," he said. Nadal had already told Spanish radio that he thought it would be "difficult" to stage one of the majors "in the short or medium term." Nadal has been working with his friend Pau Gasol, the Spanish basketball player, to raise funds in the fight the coronavirus. Along with other leading tennis players such as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, Nadal is one of the promoters of a plan to create a fund to help low-ranked players who are suffering financially.

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Russian tennis ace Maria Sharapova has allegedly flouted the strict Coronavirus-caused lockdown rules in the US, where over 55,000 have died due to the pandemic.

According to British tabloid, The Sun, Maria, 32, recently visited some friends around Los Angeles with boyfriend Alexander Gilkes, 41, whom she has been dating since 2018.

Maria was photographed on Friday, relaxing on a balcony alongside another couple at a Manhattan beach pad.

The quartet were in clear breach of the two-metre social distancing norm that has been laid down by the authorities in LA where there have been 850 COVID-19 deaths
till date.

A few days ago, Maria had announced on Instagram that she was heading to a friend's beach house. "Last night, we took a sunset road trip along PCH, picked up lobster brioche rolls from @broadstreetoysterco drive thru and made our way to a friend's beach house," the 2004 Wimbledon champion wrote.

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Belgian tennis player Kirsten Flipkens was fined by police during a cycle ride recently. World No. 77 Kirsten unknowingly rode across the border, entering the Netherlands and paid the price for the violation. According to Dutch newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, Kirsten had to pay the border police a fine of 250 euros.

"I had entered a route of 130km in my GPS [the system picks the route automatically] and then I saw that I found myself in The Netherlands [in Komoot] as it entered the shortest route back to Belgium. I saw them [police] from a distance of one kilometre and then immediately I was put aside like a criminal with sirens on the side. Really bad," a frustrated Kirsten wrote on Twitter, adding that another cyclist passing by told her, that he had received only a warning at the same crossing.

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Ukrainian tennis champion Elina Svitolina is keen to try new things during this Coronavirus-caused lockdown and hosting a TV show is on top of her list, according to tennisworldusa.org.

"I recently tried a completely new sphere. I have very long prepared for interviews and understand that it is not an easy job, especially for those people who are not in this area. I really liked it. Maybe in the future I want to do some TV show. It is interesting to me, and I think that now there is time to try something new," said the World No. 5 tennis ace.

Elina, 25, who is currently in lockdown with her Frennis tennis star boyfriend, Gael Monfils, 33, is also completingher online education. "I had to work hard to pull up on my French. I already know some of it, as I had learnt it before but now I'm doing an intensive mode. I am left with two tests: training on nutrition and I also want to take a course in psychology or fitness. This is what I want to do," added the 2018 WTA Finals champion.

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Tennis star Sania Mirza on Thursday became the first Indian player to be nominated for the Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Group I Heart Award. Former world number one and multiple Grand Slam winner, Sania, returned to Fed Cup competition for the first time since 2016 and guided Team India with her stunning performance, recording three doubles wins in the Asia/Oceania Group I tournament earlier this year in March. Her performance, along with another senior compatriot Ankita Raina, proved decisive in India's historic qualification to the Fed Cup Play-offs.

Reflecting on her nomination, Sania said the Fed Cup result at the Asia/Oceania tournament is one of the greatest achievements of her playing career. "Stepping on to the court for the first time in India colours was a moment of pride for me, back in 2003. It has been an eighteen-year long journey since then and I feel extremely proud and privileged to have contributed to the success of Indian tennis. The Fed Cup result at the Asia/Oceania tournament last month is one of the greatest achievements of my playing career. These are the moments an athlete plays for and I am grateful to the Fed Cup Heart Awards selection panel for this recognition" Sania said in a statement.

The Fed Cup Heart Award is an International Tennis Federation (ITF) initiative that was established in 2009 to recognize Fed Cup players. This year, six players have been nominated for the three regional Group I Fed Cup Heart Awards. In Fed Cup Heart Award's 11th edition this year, Priska Madelyn Nugroho of Indonesia is the second player nominated from the Asia/Oceania region. They are joined by Anett Kontaveit (Estonia) and Eleonora Molinaro (Luxembourg) from Europe/Africa; Fernanda Contreras Gomez of Mexico and Paraguay's Veronica Cepede Royg from the Americas, as the remaining four regional Group I nominations.

The winners of the Heart Awards will be determined by online voting by fans which will go live on 1st May and will go on until 8th May.

In 2019, Zarina Diyas from Kazakhstan emerged victorious from Asia/Oceania Group I.

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British tennis ace Andy Murray won the Virtual Madrid Open title on Thursday after a semi-final walkover, when opponent Diego Schwartzmann, logging in from Argentina, suffered a connection glitch.

Andy beat Belgium's David Goffin in the final, but the drama of the online tournament was in the semis. Diego kept winning points even though Andy was hitting winners.

Andy exclaimed: "This is madness," following which Diego withdrew. "I don't deserve to be in the final you play the final," Diego told Andy. "Due to technical problems with @dieschwartzman's connection that prevented him from competing normally in his semi-final match, the players have agreed that @andy_murray should progress to the #MMOPEN Virtual Pro final," the organisers tweeted. Later, Andy said he would donate a part of his prize money to UK's National Health Services (NHS): "I'll be donating half of the USD 45,000 prize money to the NHS and the other half to the tennis players relief fund."

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Tennis stars like Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Naomi Osaka, Kei Nishikori and others will participate in a virtual charity tennis tournament. IMG is the company coordinating the tournament titled "Stay at Home Slam" and it will be streamed on Sunday on Facebook Gaming and on the tennis Facebook page of IMG. Two-person teams will compete using the Mario Tennis Aces game on Nintendo Switch.

Competitors will play the video game from their homes across the country, and each will receive $25,000 donated to the charity of their choice, with the winner of the tournament receiving an additional $1 million in donation. "I am proud our IMG tennis clients came together so quickly to support a multitude of great causes," said Max Eisenbud, SVP of tennis clients at IMG as per the official website. "It is a testament to the people we work with across all our divisions that we were able to bring this to life in such a short amount of time."

"It's been incredible to see the creative ways athletes are using social media to support people during this difficult time," said Evan Shugerman, Facebook Athlete Partnerships Lead. "We're excited to be partnering with IMG to contribute to those efforts, which will bring some of the world's top athletes together on Facebook for an entertaining and impactful competition."

Legendary tennis player John McEnroe and popular YouTube personality iJustine (Justine Ezarik) will be commentating the matches.

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Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina is making the most of the Coronavirus-forced lockdown by teaming up with her friends to start her food blog.

The World No. 5 recently shared a picture with her 5,96,000 Instagram followers to announce her new venture. "I am excited to share a new blog that I have started, together with my culinary friends, giving you easy healthy recipes and some new ideas for the use of 'superfoods'. Link in bio. More stuff to come. Stay tuned," she wrote.

 

 

 

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👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼 I am excited to share a new blog that I have started, together with my culinary friends, giving you easy healthy recipes and some new ideas for the use of ‘superfoods’. ⁣ Link in bio. ⁣ More stuff to come. ⁣ Stay tune. 😘

A post shared by Elina Svitolina (@elisvitolina) onApr 28, 2020 at 7:43am PDT

She recently shared recipes of coconut, strawberry, blueberry and spinach smoothies.

The link to Elina's food blog is: https://theesclub.com

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American supermodel Gigi Hadid has revealed she injured her arm while training with tennis star Serena Williams for a virtual charity tennis tournament. The Stay at Home Slam is set to be streamed on Facebook Gaming and on the tennis Facebook page of IMG on Sunday. While taking tips from Serena ahead of the online celebrity match, Gigi, who is expecting her first child with singer boyfriend Zayn Malik, said she pulled her entire arm the first time she practised on swing mode.

During an appearance on Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show, Gigi said: "I've been practising a lot because if anyone's more competitive than me, it's Serena. We're playing controller version, but the first night I played, I practised on swing mode and fully pulled my entire arm. The next day, I couldn't lift my arm. I couldn't do anything."

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The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has issued a set of guidelines for local and national-level competitions when tennis returns to action once the restrictions put in place due to coronavirus pandemic are lifted. The guidelines include arriving at a venue already dressed and leaving immediately after the conclusion of a match, no handshake, no sharing of equipments (rackets, towels, water bottles, etc), no doubles matches. Besides the guidelines also say that competitions should be held without spectators.

The ITF has also said that players use separate sets of balls (and mark them clearly prior to play) and should go around opposite sides of the net at changeovers. "The guidelines -- at this stage for local and national-level competitions only -- seek to provide a framework in which tennis can be played again in a manner that protects against the risk from transmission or infection by the COVID-19 virus, and provide a number of practical suggestions as to how this might be achieved," said ITF in a statement on Friday.

"While following measures such as these will ensure that the risk from COVID-19 is minimised, the guidelines are clear that the risk cannot be eliminated altogether," it added.

Currently, all tennis activities remain suspended until July 13 due to coronavirus pandemic which has so far claimed more than 2.3 lakh lives across the world.

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Canadian tennis beauty Eugenie Bouchard shared this picture taken at a beach destination with her 2.1 million Instagram followers and captioned it: "Bored."

Later, she wrote: "If I had known someone was taking a pic I would NOT have done my hair like Thomas Jefferson," to which an online user replied: "@geniebouchard Thomas has cute hair! So what."

 

 

 

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bored

A post shared by Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) onMay 2, 2020 at 1:21pm PDT

Meanwhile, another one asked: "@geniebouchard why? it's perfect. and no way TJ ever looked that good in a bikini."

And the third one said: "@geniebouchard but kinda younger cuter version of Thomas Jefferson."

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World No. 2 tennis star Rafael Nadal's wife Maria Francisca Perello has revealed that the media often misreport her name and date of birth.

Mrs Nadal indicated that Mery is her real name. Also, her birthday is not on July 7.

Mery has always stayed away from the media glare, but remains in the news for being Rafael's better half.

In a recent interview to Spanish daily La Vanguardia, she said: "Well, nobody around me calls me Xisca. And my birthday is soon, I will surely spend it in confinement. But it is not in July. There is still a little time left…" she was quoted as saying by essentiallysports.com website.

When asked about her interest in sports, she replied: "I exercise a lot, but always just for myself. Never seriously. I have played volleyball, done gymnastics, fitness and lately running. On vacation, I sometimes play paddle tennis with Rafael."

Mery, who is in self-isolation with Rafael in Mallorca, added: "We are confined like everyone else. We were very clear from Day One to train at home. We do rubber bands, push-ups, circuit…at least one hour a day in my case."

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American tennis ace Serena Williams, a successful entrepreneur with fashion labels, handbags and jewelry lines to her name, believes her daughter Alexis Olympia, two, could grow up to be a good businesswoman.

Serena, currently in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is busy working from home with her little girl by her side throughout—even during online meetings.

"I love being a full-time mom and not having the responsibilities to travel and play. I love to spend so much time with her but it's interesting. She's in every single call that I have, every single meeting. I feel like she's getting a little bit of it, so she's going to be a really good businesswoman when this is all over," the 23-time Grand Slam champion told USA's People magazine.

The former World No. 1 offered some valuable parental advice too. "You should schedule your day well, and always include your kids. They are the voice of the future.

It's like we're living a future history lesson and that's rare. My advice to parents is to always bring your kids in. You never know what they're going to pick up," added Serena, 38.

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Tennis legend Leander Paes, who made a guest appearance on the Education Webinar for Coaches, jointly organised by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI), on Monday said it is key to focus on learning new skills during the lockdown period.

The country has been under lockdown for more than a month now to curb the menace of COVID-19 pandemic.

"It is important to focus on learning new skills during the lockdown", Paes said on how to best utilise this time away from tennis action and keep yourself active and mentally fit, as quoted by AITA's official website.

The 18-time Grand Slam champion also spoke on what keeps him going even at the age of 46. "For me, the relationships that I have had through tennis are the things that I cherish the most. "Those relationships over generations are what's special.

Paes recalled old relationships and had very special words for R.K.Khanna and Anil Khanna. "When I started playing tennis, R.K Khanna was the President of the AITA. I would not be who I am today without Khanna because he actually helped me in the Juniors, as a 14 or 15 year-old.

"He helped me get into the ITF Junior team. At that point, my family could not afford all the international coaching. And then after that Anil Khanna who was the President, took over the mantle of support."

Paes also thanked others including Bishwadeep, AITA CEO for having been there over the last two decades in Davis Cup ties that Paes had played, always being there to give support.

Paes signed off from the Webinar with a message to coaches saying, "Greatest joy you can have is to see your students do well at tennis. Use the sport as a vehicle to make them good human beings."

The Webinar, now in its second week, will have a session of "Coaching Young Children and Young People" by Kawaljeet Singh and Miguel Crespo from the International Tennis Federation will join as the guest speaker.

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Rafael Nadal has said he views the rest of this year as "practically lost" for tennis and would even be relieved if the sport returned as normal at the start of 2021. The men's and women's tours have been stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War II and the French Open postponed until the end of September. But Nadal, who has won 12 of his 19 grand slam titles at Roland Garros, believes the chances of tennis restarting before the end of this year are slim.

"I hope to play as soon as possible but if I think about it logically, we travel every week from one place to another, we are in contact with hotels, airports, all in different places," Nadal said in an interview with Spanish newspaper ABC on Tuesday. "If you gave me the ability to guarantee that in January 2021, a normal season like before will begin, I would sign for that now with my eyes closed."

In a separate interview with El Pais, Nadal said: "I'm more looking to the Australian Open than what happens later this year. I see 2020 as practically lost." Nadal at 33 is in the latter stages of his illustrious career and the hiatus came just as he looked to be closing in on the 20 major titles won by the 38-year-old Roger Federer.

If tennis returns this summer, Nadal could choose to skip the US Open and save himself for the French, given there would be just a week between the two. "It's all hypothetical because I don't think it will be like that," said Nadal to ABC. "My feeling, and I say it with sadness and I won't lie to you, is that we are losing a year of our lives.

"And at 33 or 34 years old that is much more valuable than at 20 when you have many more years ahead, even if it's still a year. "Frankly, I think that will not happen. From the US Open to Roland Garros with a week in between, I just don't think we can play."

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Novak Djokovic has apparently broke confinement rules in Spain by going back to a tennis court. Djokovic posted a video on Instagram showing him exchanging shots with another man at a tennis club in the coastal city of Marbella, where the Serb has reportedly stayed. Djokovic filmed the video while hitting shots and wrote he was "so happy to play on clay...well, just for a bit with my phone in the hands."

Spain on Monday loosened some of the lockdown measures that had been in place since mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing professional athletes to return to practice. But sports facilities are supposed to remain closed at least until next week in most parts of the country, with the exception of training centres for teams in professional leagues in sports such as soccer.

The Spanish tennis federation said in a statement on Monday that professional players in Spain were allowed to exercise by themselves or with a coach, but not yet on a tennis court. It said it would work on a set of guidelines to inform players and clubs about what they would be permitted to do beginning next week.
The federation's statement did not appear to be related to Djokovic's appearance on the court in Marbella.

Requests for comment made to the federation and to Djokovic's staff late on Monday were not immediately answered. It was not clear if Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open would be subjected to fines or sanctions if it was confirmed he broke the lockdown rules.

The No. 1-ranked Djokovic recently said he was against taking an anti-Coronavirus vaccination if it became mandatory to travel once the pandemic subsides, though he later said he was open to changing his mind.

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A fund for tennis players hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic has been created, the sport's governing bodies announce, adding that they had contributed more than $6 million (5.3 million euros). In a joint statement, the ATP and WTA tours, the International Tennis Federation and the four Grand Slam tournaments -- the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open -- said the Player Relief Programme will support those "who are facing unprecedented challenges due to the global impact of COVID-19".

With the tennis season suspended until at least July 13, some "800 ATP/WTA singles and doubles players" are in need of financial support, the statement continued, with eligibility for the fund determined by a player's ranking and previous prize money earnings. The fund can also be donated to via initiatives including auctions, player donations and virtual tennis games, added the governing bodies, who last month announced talks about creating the programme.

The virus has caused havoc to the calendar, with Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War II and the French Open postponed until the end of September. The United States Tennis Association will decide in mid-June whether or not the US Open will take place in New York. However despite the financial difficulties facing hundreds of players, the idea of a relief fund was dismissed by world number three Dominic Thiem, who said last month he would not give lower-ranked players his money.
"Quite honestly I have to say that no tennis player will be fighting to survive, even those who are much lower-ranked," Thiem said, speaking of a separate fund idea revealed by Novak Djokovic.

"None of them are going to starve ... I would rather give money to people or organisations that really need it."

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The tennis club where Novak Djokovic broke confinement rules in Spain has said it mistakenly allowed the top-ranked Serb to practice and apologized for the error. Djokovic published a video of him training on Monday in apparent violation of Spain's current rules amid the coronavirus pandemic. The video posted on Instagram showed Djokovic exchanging shots with another man at the club in the coastal city of Marbella, where the Serb has been staying for the past several weeks.

Djokovic filmed the video while hitting shots and wrote he was "so happy to play on clay .. well, just for a bit with my phone in the hands. Spain has eased some of the lockdown measures that had been in place since mid-March, allowing professional athletes to return to practice, but most training centers and sports facilities must remain closed until next week. We are sorry that our interpretation of the regulation could have been erroneous, and this could have inconvenienced Mr. Djokovic or any other citizen acting in good faith," the Puente Romano Marbella Tennis Club said in a statement.

The statement, which was relayed by Djokovic's management team, said the club received a request from the player to practice and gave him the go-ahead with the "understanding that from May 4 all professional sports players were authorized to train." The club said it therefore believed he was "permitted to train in our facilities." It said it later received a "clarification" from the Spanish tennis federation and "both parties have agreed that training should resume" only next week.

Rafael Nadal said he also went to train on a court this week, but he did it on private property because the rules weren't fully clear to him. Soccer players were among the exceptions who could start training inside sports facilities beginning this week.

Spain has been one of the countries most affected by the pandemic but it started loosening some of its restrictions on movement as the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 started to go down recently. The nation went into a lockdown on March 14.

Djokovic recently said he was against taking a vaccine for the coronavirus if it became mandatory to travel once the pandemic subsides, though he later said he was open to changing his mind.

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Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova has revealed that fellow tennis star and World No.1 Novak Djokovic was once fanboying on her over dinner. During an Instagram Live chat with the Serbian ace, Sharapova, who called time on her illustrious career in February, said: "I remember we played this little exhibition. I was young, you were young, way before you had any Grand Slam titles. I don't know if you'd even won a tournament at that point," said Sharapova. This part of the chat was shared by ATP Tour on their official Twitter handle.

"We're not going to start hugging trees, right?"@MariaSharapova with the one-liners for @DjokerNole today. 🤣#tennisathome pic.twitter.com/bweyZMuJ2v

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 5, 2020

"You said that if you'd win (in a mixed doubles match), I would have to pay dinner. I was like, ‘Okay, whatever, who is this kid?'" Sharapova recalled. "You won and you were like, ‘We have dinner tonight. We're going to the Japanese place!' I was like, ‘Are you serious? You and me, going to dinner, tonight?' So we did. We ended up going to dinner and it was so funny because you pulled out I think it was an old Kodak camera and you asked the waiter to take a photo of us… and here we are," she further said.

"It's actually what happened. Maria is saying the truth," Djokovic said, laughing. "I think you were fanboying," Sharapova replied. Djokovic recently said that he was "mentally empty" and "confused" at the beginning of the ongoing freeze of the tennis calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The sport has been on a full stop for over a month due to the pandemic outbreak.

Novak Djokovic

Djkovic has enjoyed a revival in form after a slump in late 2017 and most of 2018. He was set to defend his Wimbledon title this year before the grass court Grand Slam was cancelled for the first time since the Second World War.

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Tennis ace Sania Mirza said that one needs to be more sensitive while coaching young female sportspersons. Speaking in the All India Tennis Association and the Sport Authority of Indias digital Coachs Education webinar on Wednesday, Sania said that coaches need to be sensitive of the hormonal changes that girls go through while working with them.

"My dad always tells me that to work with a woman tennis player is a lot trickier and a lot more mental because I do think that there are a lot of issues that girls go through, especially when they are adolescent," said Sania.

"There are so many changes that are happening, internally in your body and externally as well. You are trying to be the best tennis player that you can be while there are so many hormonal changes happening as well, and it happens throughout the life of a woman.

"You can be a little bit more sensitive to their needs and the way they are because a lot of the times they are just trying to discover who they are, while they are also trying to be a tennis player. It can be a pretty tough job."

33-year-old Sania made her comeback to tennis this year after giving birth to her first child. She won the Hobart International in January before playing an integral role in helping India seal a historic playoff spot in the Fed Cup.

"Just the way I have managed everything else, I could manage both tennis and motherhood. I am lucky enough to have enough help around me as well, that is a huge plus point for me. My mom and my sister have played a huge part in giving me as much help as possible," said Sania on being asked about how she is managing the twin-role of mother and professional tennis player.

"A lot of people questioned it even when I was trying to make that comeback, how did you find time to lose so much weight. There's so much that happens with your body after you give birth. You just have to, sort of, adapt, find a way to take out two hours from your day to work-out and try to find that balance. It's also good for your own sanity as well, to find time for yourself."

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Moldovan tennis player Dmitrii Baskov has been hailed as an Indian hero after joining a campaign to feed Ahmedabad's poor, who are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Davis Cup player arrived in India in January to visit a tennis academy before the advancing pandemic prevented him from returning home. Dmitrii, 25, once a hitting partner for Wimbledon champion Simona Halep, has since been helping out by packaging food for the needy in Ahmedabad.

He is among a team packing bread, rice and other dishes at the Ace Tennis Academy, destined for the city's slums and containment zones. "My friend Pramesh Modi mentioned this [idea of feeding the poor] and I said yes, sounds great and the next day we did it and it continued day after day," said Dmitrii. "He is an Indian hero and could be a role model for a number of Indians who have not come out of their houses to even help out in one way or the other," said Mitul Parikh, who packs food alongside Dmitrii.

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Tennis ace Sania Mirza spoke about the tweet she put up in March when Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc missed an ODI match to watch his wife and women's cricket star Alyssa Healy play the T20 World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Sania, who is married to former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik, tweeted: "Sure thing !! God forbid it would be a guy from the subcontinent, the guy would be called a ‘joru ka ghulaam' in one second ?? good on you Mitchell ???? couple goals for sure!!"

Sania on Thursday explained that she was speaking about the abuse that she or Indian actor Anushka Sharma face whenever their husbands miss out on the field. Anushka is married to Indian captain Virat Kohli.

"It (Tweet on Starc) was funny because me and Anushka probably relate to this the most," said Sania in a video interaction with Indian cricketers Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana on their Youtube chat show "Double Trouble."

"I think whenever our husbands perform, it's because of them and when they don't it's because of us. I don't know how that works," she said.

Sania said that the phenomenon points to a deeper cultural issue. "We are saying it as a joke but I think there is a much deeper issue. The deeper issue is that a woman can always be a distraction and not a strength.

"That's a cultural issue we have to deal with. Oh ‘if your girlfriend is there or your wife is there, he must be distracted because he is going out for dinner'. That doesn't even make any sense.

"When he (Starc) went back to his wife to watch the World Cup final and everybody was hailing him, I was trying to just picture Shoaib doing that for me and I was like, hell would have broken loose if that would have happened.

"They would have said that he is such a joru ka ghulam, he is going and watching a women's cricket match. I just felt it. Sometimes humour also brings out the truth in many things.

"Anushka and I had a long conversation about it. We both were like, my goodness this is so true."

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Former chief of the Swiss Tennis Federation, Sven Groeneveld has revealed that tennis champ Roger Federer was advised not to pursue his now wife, Mirka Vavrinec, when he first met her at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Mirka, who was also a professional tennis player and part of the Switzerland squad in Sydney, went on to partner Roger at the 2002 Hopman Cup.

However, in 2000, Roger's friends were initially against him getting together with her. "Roger asked everyone if he should go out with her. Everyone advised him against it. But as Federer did it, now it shows that it was the best decision of his life," Sven said on former tennis player Christopher Kas's online show, Kasi Live.

Mirka eventually retired from tennis in 2002 due to a foot injury.

Roger and Mirka got married in 2009 and have two sets of twins, daughters Myla and Charlene, nine, and sons Lenny and Leo, five.

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