Miami Open 2021 - the Ghosted tennis event

Miami Open 2021

In order to find out the truth, I had to go there myself.

What I discovered was both shocking and disappointing.

In order for real tennis to resume, fans must be at the center.
Not the tournament, not the prize money, not the sponsors. The Fans. They are #1.

“If you see fraud and do not say fraud, you are a fraud.”

- Nassim Nicholas Taleb

March 22, 2021

After many withdrawals following the Top 3, the Miami Open tournament decided to continue to run. However, on its main page, we found very little information about venue updates.

Contacting the IMG staff members and emailing for feedback multiple times resulted in almost no useable information. This is after having booked travel plans and tickets to the event.

Unplanned Surprises with Miami Open Tickets

A week prior, I had personally purchased a group of (5) pre-sale tickets for the Grandstand (the largest match court). The center court stadium was closed off due to covid-19 restrictions. However, I took a chance and wanted to give my fans a preview of the condition of Tennis Tournaments.

Even the practice courts were partitioned off at least 20 feet away around the court barriers.

After all the player dropouts, almost nobody wanted to go. Luckily, I was able to transfer a pair of tickets to a couple of tennis fans. Then hours before matches began, I was able to sell my remaining two tickets I could not use online. At least it was not a complete waste.

Days prior, the Miami Beach scene was chaotic and forced a curfew in the city. Spring breakers flooded the airports and beaches. The news of after-dark chaos was everywhere.

Miami Hard Rock Stadium - Ghost Town

Below are some of the photos taken that show the eerily empty and largely fan-less campus during the middle of the day.

With none of the usual fan electricity - friends cheering, kids laughing, patrons shopping and eating - the whole event felt like an expensive, giant birthday party where all the guests RSVP'd no.