WTA tennis tournament held after thwarting flood

Despite various difficulties, the Hungarian Grand Prix international women’s tennis tournament takes place between July 8 and 14 at its traditional venue, the Római Tennis Academy in the northern part of the Hungarian capital.

“A lot has been at stake as I have held this tournament for 18 years.” That is how Jenõ Márky, the owner of the Róma Tennis Academy recalls the flood situation of mid-June that threatened the organization of the traditional Hungarian Grand Prix international women’s tournament scheduled for early July. His property, the venue of the tournament, is located on the bank of the Danube and it took heroic efforts from Márky and his team to keep the flood out and maintain his chances to hold an event where the players would not even notice that the court they play on had been threatened by a water level of more than two meters above street level just a month before.

Protection of the property

“We received the news on June 2 that – as a result of huge rainfalls in Germany – extreme flooding was expected in Budapest. A record water level was reported and we were told that the street that connects our establishment with the city would be closed no later than June 6. Thus, we had to bring in – in a short time, preparing for every eventuality - all the things necessary for the protection of our property,” Márky explains to Diplomacy & Trade.

Protection works by the authorities took place outside the Római Tennis Academy – “we were left to our own devices inside the property. It meant financing, on our own, the mobilization of machines and manpower to do what seemed impossible, that is, keep the water outside,” he says. On June 7, the utilities were turned off because of the rapid rise in the water level. From then on, the pumps were operated from large, diesel-operated power generators, burning 30-40 liters of gasoline an hour.

The reinforced concrete wall of the nearby Holiday Beach Hotel, the official hotel of the competition, was broken by the extreme water pressure and water flooded the hotel at a height of 2 meters. 40 people had to be evacuated. “When this happened, the disaster prevention authorities only allowed us to continue our protection efforts after we declared this intention in writing. All the people participating in the protection work could remain on the site at their own risk. When the water level peaked, it was over two meters higher than the ground level of the tennis courts in the facility,” he points out.

Everyone else flooded in the area

“Along the 4.5-km section of the river bank in our area, the Római Tennis Academy was the only property that was able to avoid being flooded. This was due to the hard and dedicated work of hundreds of people and the extremely high material costs,” he adds. Eventually, the dyke that Márky and his team built around the facility to withstand the big flood of 2006 managed to cope with the record water level but water filtering through the dykes still covered all but a few tennis courts, including the Center Court surrounded by a 3,000-seat stadium and the auxiliary establishments. The muddy red clay covering the courts had to be scraped off and replaced, technical equipment and electric wiring was replaced and the entire facility was disinfected so that the authorities would grant the operation permit in time for the tournament. However, the costs of flood protection and restoration, exceeding USD 150,000, which has made it very difficult for Jenõ Márky (whose own house nearby was covered with half a meter high water) to finance the competition under the current economic conditions.

Hungarian Grand Prix 2013

Still, the tournament will go ahead – with some compromise. There is no qualification stage and the doubles field if reduced from 16 to 8. All this saves a lot of money and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) will also help the Hungarian organizers with a 5-year maturity loan. Several of the world’s top 30 players (like Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic or Alize Cornet of France)  – and the best Hungarian ones – are expected to be on court at the Római Tennis Academy to make sure the Hungarian audience continues to be treated to high-level tennis. They can also enjoy to see four Hungarians play, including Tímea Babos, who is currentlyí the top Hungarian player in the WTA world rankings.