ATP Tour shuts down for six weeks over coronavirus

As more and more persons across the world are infected by the deadly coronavirus, the ATP Tour has, for health concerns, postponed all play for six weeks.

All tennis tournaments on the men’s ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour are cancelled until April 27, 2020.

The Miami Open was cancelled earlier on Thursday, following the postponement of Indian Wells and the Fed Cup Finals, while the start of the European clay-court season will be severely affected.

“This is not a decision that was taken lightly,” said ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi.

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“It represents a great loss for our tournaments, players, and fans worldwide. However, we believe this is the responsible action needed at this time in order to protect the health and safety of our players, staff, the wider tennis community and general public health in the face of this global pandemic.”

The suspension of all ATP events takes place with immediate effect, which means the two Challenger tournaments taking place in Kazakhstan and South Africa will not be completed.

The ATP events in Monte Carlo and Barcelona are among the tournaments that have been cancelled.

Meanwhile, the impact of the suspension on the world rankings will be carefully considered, the tennis body said.

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