China: All tennis tournaments canceled due to pandemic

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) – All tennis tournaments that were to be held in China this year have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the sport’s top bodies confirmed on Friday.

“The ATP has announced the cancellation of the 2020 China tournament swing, following a Chinese government directive relating to sporting events in continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the governing body of men’s tennis, said in a statement on Friday.

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) also issued a similar statement: “Due to the recent decision by China’s General Administration of Sport that China will not host any international sporting events in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, all WTA tournaments that were scheduled in China on WTA’s provisional calendar will not be held.”

The decision means the Rolex Shanghai Masters, Chengdu Open, Zhuhai Championships, and the China Open in capital Beijing will not be played this year.

The seven canceled WTA events are the China Open, Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, Jiangxi Open, Zhengzhou Open, Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, Hengqin Life WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, and Guangzhou Open.

Since emerging in China last December, the novel coronavirus has claimed over 633,600 lives and infected over 15.52 million people in 188 countries and regions, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.

The pandemic has disrupted sports activities across the globe, causing multiple cancelations and postponements of international events.