WTA, ATP cancel all tennis tournaments in China

SHANGHAI: All international tennis tournaments in China this year, including the Shanghai Masters and WTA Finals, were cancelled on Friday due the coronavirus pandemic.

The major blow to attempts to restart tennis comes after China said it would not stage most international sports events for the rest of 2020 to keep the pandemic in check.

“We are extremely disappointed that our world-class events in China will not take place this year,” Steve Simon, head of the Women’s Tennis Association, said in a statement. “We do however respect the decision that has been made (by Chinese authorities) and are eager to return to China as soon as possible next season.”

Among the seven WTA events cancelled is the Wuhan Open in October, which promised to be symbolic as the city was at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak when it emerged late last year. The ATP also said it was cancelling tournaments in China for the rest of the year, including the prestigious Shanghai Masters and China Open in Beijing.

“Our approach throughout this pandemic has been to always follow local guidance when staging events. We respect the Chinese government’s decision to do what’s best for the country in response to the unprecedented global situation,” said Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP chairman. “It’s with a heavy heart that we announce ATP tournaments will not be played in China this year.”

The tennis season has been at a standstill since mid-March due to the virus outbreak worldwide and is struggling to restart. The ATP said earlier this week that a tournament in Washington DC that marked the start of the men’s tennis season next month has been cancelled.

US Open organisers insisted that would not impact the behind-closed-doors Grand Slam scheduled for the end of August. The Cincinnati Open and US Open are still scheduled to take place in New York from August 20, despite several leading figures in men’s tennis casting doubts over the Grand Slam. World number one Novak Djokovic said he was undecided over whether to compete in the US Open.

The women’s WTA tour is scheduled to restart on 3rd August in Palermo, Italy, making it the first event on the recently announced new calendar.

The cancellations come as sports is slowly returning to the country. However, all major international sports events are in major doubt including the postponed Formula One Grand Prix in Shanghai.