Published 01:30 IST, March 19th 2020
Coronavirus: ATP and WTP issue joint statement suspending tennis tours until June 7
Professional tennis associations announced on March 18 that game seasons and tours will remain suspended until June 7 owing to the coronavirus outbreak
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Professional tennis associations announced on March 18 that game seasons and tours will remain suspended until June 7. According to the reports, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women's Tennis Association (WTA) have released a joint statement informing about the upcoming tournaments, adding that they are planning to resume operations from June 8.
In addition, the ranking of the players will be frozen indefinitely. As per the reports, Novac Djokovic and Ashleigh Barty top the singles rankings. Alongwith the ATP and WTA, the International Tennis Federation reportedly announced the suspension of tournament play.
Joint Announcement: ATP & @WTA extend suspension of tours.
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 18, 2020
Due to the continuing outbreak of COVID-19, all ATP and WTA tournaments in the Spring clay-court swing will not be held as scheduled.
The FedEx ATP Rankings will be frozen throughout this period and until further notice.
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 18, 2020
Official Statement
The official statement of ATP & WTA read, "After careful consideration, and due to the continuing outbreak of COVID-19, all ATP and WTA tournaments in the Spring clay-court swing will not be held as scheduled. This includes the combined ATP/WTA tournaments in Madrid and Rome, along with the WTA events in Strasbourg and Rabat and ATP events in Munich, Estoril, Geneva and Lyon".
The statement stated, "The challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to professional tennis demand greater collaboration than ever from everyone in the tennis community in order for the sport to move forward collectively in the best interest of players, tournaments and fans."
It further added, "We are assessing all options related to preserving and maximising the tennis calendar based on various return dates for the Tours, which remains an unknown at this time. We are committed to working through these matters with our player and tournament members, and the other governing bodies, in the weeks and months ahead."
(Pic Credit: Pixabay)
01:30 IST, March 19th 2020