Advantage, Coronavirus

This is the first instalment of Advantage, Coronavirus, a short online sports docu-series exploring the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world of sports.

In this episode, we begin by examining the origins of the coronavirus—what it is, where it came from, how it spreads, and its symptoms—providing the audience with a foundational understanding of the virus that changed lives globally.

We then delve into its effects on major sports, revealing how the pandemic fractured Formula 1 (One Fractured Formula), disrupted football (Forlorned Football), forced golf into crisis (In the Bunker), and left tennis in uncertainty (Tentative Tennis).

A key highlight of this episode is an exclusive interview with Craig O’Shannessy, former strategy coach to Novak Djokovic and founder of Brain Game Tennis. Conducted via Zoom between the UK and Austin, Texas, O’Shannessy shares his firsthand experience of how COVID-19 upended the tennis world—boarding a flight to Indian Wells, only to land and discover that the Masters 1000 event had been abruptly canceled due to an outbreak.

He also provides insight into how the pandemic personally affected him and offers expert perspectives on how tennis tournaments should adapt and prepare for future disruptions.