‘Status quo’ to remain for Tour schedules despite coronavirus fears, according to ATP and WTA chiefs

ATP Tour

Shahida Jacobs
March 10, 2020

There are no plans to cancel or postpone any more ATP and WTA events following the outbreak of the coronavirus, according to ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi and WTA boss Steve Simon.

The Indian Wells Masters, which was due to start on March 11, became the biggest tennis tournament to be hit by the coronavirus as organisers announced on Sunday it “will not take place at this time”, adding they “are prepared to hold the tournament on another date”.

Speculation was rife that the Miami Open would also be affected, but officials are adamant it “is moving forward as scheduled”.

With Italy on full lockdown and the likes of France and Spain also affected by the virus, there are doubts over several European clay-court events.

Wimbledon still ‘on at present’ despite coronavirus outbreak fears

ATP head Gaudenzi, though, insists at this stage there are no plans to make changes to the calendar.

“While we regret that the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells will not take place, the ATP Tour calendar beyond Indian Wells remains as status quo,” he said in a statement.

“We continue to monitor the situation daily, working closely with our player and tournament members with the understanding that direction must be taken from local public health authorities.

“We are committed to exploring all options for the operation of upcoming tournaments as the health and safety of our players and all other stakeholders remain our top priority. Any further updates will be communicated on ATP platforms.”

His WTA counterpart Simon told The New York Times that they won’t speculate at this stage.

“It is too soon to speculate about what will happen to other tournaments that follow,” WTA chairman Steve Simon said on Sunday. “Health and safety will always come first.”

He added: “Right now our approach is we are planning to operate all of our upcoming events and put every precaution in place. But we will obviously continue to work with the event very closely and will have to monitor all the situations there.”

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