There will be competitive tennis tournaments for the next three months following a joint decision made by the governing bodies of both the men’s and women’s tour.
The ATP and WTA have published a statement in which they said that the suspension was required due to the ‘continuing outbreak of Covid-19.’ It has been reported today that there have been more than 200,000 cases of the Coronavirus worldwide. The world of tennis has already been halted since the start of this month due to the outbreak.
“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.” A statement reads.
In light of the action, the entire ranking system has been frozen. Meaning that players will no longer have to worry about being unable to defend points they earned on the tour last year. It is the longest suspension to have ever struck the sport with there also being ongoing concern about the upcoming grass-court season, which takes place in June.
The announcement comes a day after the French Open stunned many by changing the dates of their event until the last week of September. Which is one week after the conclusion of the US Open and has put the future of numerous tournaments set to be played during that time in serious doubt.
Whilst there were no specific mention of the French Open, both the ATP and WTA have called for the world of tennis to ‘not act unilaterally, but in unison.’ A seemingly direct jibe at the French Tennis Federation (FFT), who made the decision about the grand slam.
“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.” The two governing bodies said.
“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.”
The next scheduled grand slam is Wimbledon, which is set to get underway on June 29th. Although it has recently been announced that one of the Uk’s biggest festivals, Glastonbury, has been cancelled. The event concludes a day before Wimbledon starts.
“While we continue to plan for The Championships at this time, it remains a continuously evolving situation and we will act responsibly, in the best interests of wider society. We thank all of our members, staff, players, partners, contractors and the public for their patience and trust as we continue to navigate this unprecedented global challenge.” AELTC Chief Executive Richard Lewis recently said.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has also suspended their tournaments until June 8th in line with the other two bodies. Their decision relates to all ITF junior, beach, wheelchair and senior tournaments. The ITF is in charge of both the Davis and Fed Cups, which has already been suspended.
