Tennis Tours Extend Suspension Until July 31
(May 15, 2020) The ATP, WTA and International Tennis Federation (ITF) have extended the suspension of all tournaments through to July 31, 2020, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision, made in close collaboration with Tour members, means ATP events in Hamburg, Bastad, Newport, Los Cabos, Gstaad, Umag, Atlanta and Kitzbühel will not take place as scheduled. The extended suspension also applies to the ATP Challenger Tour and to men’s events on the ITF World Tennis Tour.
“Due to continued uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, we regret to announce our decision to extend the suspension of the Tour,” said Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman. “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. 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.”
Tournaments taking place from August 1, 2020 onwards are still planning to proceed as per the published schedule. A further update on the ATP Tour calendar is expected in mid-June.
The WTA events in Bastad, Lausanne, Bucharest, and Jurmala scheduled for July will not be held, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
A decision regarding the dates in which Karlsruhe and Palermo may be played along with further updates to the WTA calendar will be made in June.
All ITF circuits and event categories scheduled to take place during the newly extended period are suspended, including ITF Juniors, ITF Seniors, UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, Beach Tennis Tour and the men’s and women’s ITF World Tennis Tour.
ITF President, David Haggerty said, “These are tough and disappointing decisions to make, but health and safety remain our primary concern. We continue to review the global situation and assess all our options to resume international competition the moment it is safe to do so. We are working closely with tennis stakeholders to review the calendar and make the right decisions together.”
While the global pandemic continues to prevent international competition, the partial lifting of government restrictions in some nations has permitted the resumption of recreational tennis and national competitions. The ITF has issued the following Return to Tennis guidelines for the staging of competitions with appropriate integrity, health and safety measures in place and advises recreational players to follow information and instructions from their national federation as they return to play.
