ATP Chairman: "This is the responsible action needed at this time"

Professional tennis stops for six weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is the drastic, but inevitable decision taken at the end of a very long day, with endless confrontations between the tournament directors, the members of the players' council and the officials of the ATP.

After the World Health Organization raised the level from epidemic to pandemic, it was decided to stop until April 26th. With Indian Wells already canceled, the Masters 1000 in Miami and Montecarlo jump, plus the tournaments in Houston, Marrakech, Barcelona and Budapest.

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

"The ATP is carefully reviewing the broad impact of this evolving situation related to FedEx ATP Rankings points, and any decisions will be announced in due course. In addition, in full collaboration with the ITF, FedEx ATP Rankings points will not be available at any ITF World Tennis Tour events during the suspension period" - ATP has announced.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/33e1E7r