Tennis: ATP, WTA suspend tournaments due to coronavirus pandemic

The ATP and WTA have announced that all additional tournaments scheduled to come up in July have been further suspended this year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

While disclosing this on Friday May 15, 2020, ATP Chairman, Andrea Gaudenzi, stated that July tournaments in Hamburg, Bastad, Newport, Los Cabos, Gstaad, Umag, Atlanta and Kitzbühel had been canceled.

He added that the WTA tour tournaments in Bastad, Lausanne, Bucharest and Jurmala had as well been canceled.

“Due to continued uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, we regret to announce our decision to extend the suspension of the Tour,” Gaudenzi said.

“Just like tennis fans, players and tournament hosts all over the world, we share in the disappointment the Tour continues to be affected in this way,” he added.

Gaudenzi further stated that despite the suspension, actions are in place to ensure that the tour resumes as possible without compromising health and safety of the tennis community and that of the public.

“We continue to assess all of our options in an effort to resume the Tour as soon as it is safe to do so, including the feasibility of rescheduling events later in the season.

“As ever, the health and well-being of the tennis community and wider public remains our top priority in every decision we make,” he noted.

In the same vein, it has been announced that French Open which is supposed to take place on May 24 would now take place in late September through early of October.

Just as it is the case for other tour, Wimbledon which is supposed to start on May 29 has been canceled for the first time since World War Two.

However, the WTA’s Palermo Ladies Open has not been suspended as plans are still in place for the tournament to start off on July 20 as scheduled. Similarly, 125K tournament in Karlsruhe is not suspended.

Also the US Open scheduled for the end of August remains intact as there is no plan to suspend the tour.

Since the Start of March when events such as French Open and Wimbledon were called off, no professional tournaments have been played.