Thursday 12 March 2020 17:21, UK
All action on the ATP Tour has been suspended for six weeks, in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
The news emerged on Thursday afternoon.
"The ATP has announced a six-week suspension of the men's professional tennis tour due to escalating health and safety issues arising from the global outbreak of COVID-19," read a statement. "The suspension means all ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour events scheduled up to and inclusive of the week of April 20 will not take place."
The affected ATP Tour events are the Miami Open presented by Itau, the Fayez Sarofim & Co US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, and the Hungarian Open in Budapest.
"This is not a decision that was taken lightly and it represents a great loss for our tournaments, players, and fans worldwide," said Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman.
"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 worldwide nature of our sport and the international travel required presents significant risks and challenges in today's circumstances, as do the increasingly restrictive directives issued by local authorities. We continue to monitor this on a daily basis and we look forward to the Tour resuming when the situation improves. In the meantime, our thoughts and well-wishes are with all those that have been affected by the virus."
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