Many traditions have been broken in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those which persist must do so in modified form. One such genetically modified occasion occurred this week in the Croatian capital of Zagreb. When the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) event calendar was published way back in the naively optimistic era known as January 2020, the ITTF Challenge Croatia Open proudly occupied the span between April 28 and May 2. By February, however, the coronavirus outbreak had begun to cast doubts on not only the Zagreb tournament but life as we knew it. In March, the ITTF suspended all international competition indefinitely. As the entire world, including that of table tennis, ground to a halt, everyone waited to see what would unfold. Table tennis organizations developed pandemic protocols for competition, which were tested with smaller domestic tournaments. Buoyed by the success of the Sweden Tour and Germany's Düsseldorf Masters, the Croatian Table Tennis Association felt confident in hosting an international event under the same strict hygienic guidelines. This means no fans in attendance, no doubles events, and numerous minor modifications to protect the health of all in attendance of the two-day event, held October 1st and 2nd. While not as robust as in years past, the tournament boasted more than enough talent from across Europe to justify its open status. The continent's the highly trained athletes, pacing in their homes like caged tigers for most of the year, likely needed little prodding to finally resume competition. Nevertheless, the first place prizes of 1200 euros in both women's and men's singles events also helped fortify the field. In the women's final, Croatia's own Petra Petek, ranked #340 in the world, took on world #597 Tania Plaian of Romania. Petek built a 2-0 lead against Romania's Tania Plaian, but perhaps got too comfortable, allowing her Romanian rival roared back to square the match. Petek regrouped, averting disaster with a clutch 11-9 win in the deciding fifth game. The victorious Petek admitted that her confidence was shaken after squandering the lead, but this only made it sweeter to hoist the trophy at the end. "In the finals I took a 2-0 lead, but after that I stopped, some fear crept in," confided Petek. "I overcame the fear in the end and won against the Romanian player. This is definitely the biggest trophy in my career." While this is certainly not the biggest trophy of Vladimir Samsonov's career, a collection which includes three World Cup singles titles, the 44-year-old Belarusian legend was happy just to be competing again. The world #26 took on the host country's Frane Kojic, no slouch himself at world #90. After dropping the first game, Samsonov rallied to claim the Zagreb Open men's singles title, his fifth. "Certainly commendable that the Croatian Table Tennis Association decided to organize a tournament," said Samsonov. "This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are no tournaments, but we in Europe have to start, to do something. Yes, we should be careful and listen to the instructions of the competent persons, but if there is a possibility, it would be nice to start playing tournaments, to organize competitions." Samsonov, recently elected as the Vice President of the European Table Tennis Union, could not resist the opportunity to campaign for his sport. "Tennis has shown that international tournaments can be organized, as well as some other sports, so why wouldn't table tennis go that way?" As it appears, it can. Adapting to the "new normal," it will.

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