An exhibition tennis event got underway near Koblenz in Germany on Friday with professional players, a rare instance of live, televised sports during the coronavirus pandemic.

Just three people were involved in each contest during the four-day event: two players, who sat on opposite sides of the indoor clay court, and a chair umpire.

Using a shortened scoring format on the indoor court, Benjamin Hassan beat Jean-Marc Werner 4-2 4-2

Later, former world number 64 Dustin Brown, who upset Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2015, beat Constantin Schmitz 4-2 4-2 to get his round-robin matches underway and returned to the court later to beat Werner 4-3(5) 4-3(4). 

No spectators, line judges, or ball boys are allowed, and handshakes after match point are forbidden. Players are not allowed to have coaches on site or even take a shower.

The winner's check is less than 1,000 euros (1,097 U.S. dollars), and catering is basic too, consisting of pre-wrapped sandwiches and energy bars.

Despite the strict controls, day one went smoothly, once the local police department had checked out the social-distancing measures being employed before giving it the green light.

Two more events are planned for the same venue in Germany later this month.

The event scheduled for May 22-24 is four female professionals in the top 60: Alison Riske, Amanda Anisimova, Danielle Collins, and Ajla Tomljanovic.

Serena Williams' coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, is setting up exhibitions at his tennis academy in Nice, France, with 10th-ranked David Goffin of Belgium slated to face 103rd-ranked Alexei Popyrin of Australia on May 16.

The Tennis Integrity Unit, which oversees anti-corruption efforts in the sport, issued a statement Friday to point out that while "a number of new tennis events" have not been "authorized or sanctioned by the governing bodies of tennis," players, officials and support staff are still covered by the TIU's rules.

(With input from agencies)