ATP and WTA Extend Suspension of Tennis Tours Until June, Freeze Rankings
(March 18, 2020) The ATP and WTA tennis tours released a joint statement announcing the suspension of both tours until June 7 due to the coronavirus.
News Release: ATP AND WTA EXTEND SUSPENSION OF TOURS
After careful consideration, and due to the continuing outbreak of COVID-19, all ATP and WTA tournaments tin 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 professional tennis season is now suspended through 7 June 2020, including the ATP Challenger Tour and ITF World Tennis Tour. At this time, tournaments taking place from 8 June 2020 onwards are still planning to go ahead as per the published schedule.
In parallel, the FedEx ATP Rankings and WTA Rankings will be frozen throughout this period and until further notice.
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.
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.
Now is not a time to act unilaterally, but in unison. All decisions related to the impact of the coronavirus require appropriate consultation and review with the stakeholders in the game, a view that is shared by ATP, WTA, ITF, AELTC, Tennis Australia, and USTA.
In addition the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has also cancelled events through June 8 and issued a press release.
ITF PRESS RELEASE
18 March 2020
All ITF events postponed until 8 June 2020
After careful consideration and in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the ITF has postponed the ITF World Tennis Tour until Monday 8 June 2020. This aligns with the ATP and WTA’s suspension of their respective tours and the decision by the Fédération Française de Tennis to postpone Roland Garros.
In addition to the suspension of the men’s and women’s ITF World Tennis Tour, the ITF will also postpone the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors, the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, ITF Beach Tennis World Tour, and ITF Seniors Tour until 8 June 2020.
The ITF, ATP and WTA firmly believe it is better for everyone in the tennis community if we work together. We are committed to working through these matters with players, tournaments and our national and regional associations in the weeks and months ahead. More than ever, the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to professional tennis demand collaboration and unity in order for us to do what is right for our fans, players and tournaments.
ITF President David Haggerty said, “In these challenging times, it is more important than ever for our sport to pull together to provide as much certainty as possible to all those affected by these postponements. We recognise the huge impact this will have, but ultimately the health and safety of players, officials and spectators has to be our primary concern. The ITF is committed to taking a responsible approach, working with all tennis stakeholders to enable players of all levels to resume playing as soon as it is safe to do so.”
