Get Guardian on GoogleThe 2020 tennis calendar is set to suffer another big blow as the Madrid Open will be cancelled on the back of increasing coronavirus cases in the Spanish capital, reports tennis365.com.
The joint ATP-WTA event was initially due to be staged in May, but was rescheduled to September 12 to 20 after tennis was forced to go on a five-month break due to COVID-19.
[ad]
The tournament was set to be one of a handful of warm-up events for the French Open, but organisers were last week advised by Spain’s Deputy Secretary of Public Health, Antonio Zapatero, “not to stage the event” as there were too many concerns.
A statement added, “the final decision on the staging of the 2020 Mutua Madrid Open will fall to Ion Tiriac and Super Slam Ltd., the tournament’s licence holder.”
Spanish paper ABC reports that the tournament has officially been called off with an announcement set to be made soon.
“Tournament promoter Ion Tiriac was the one who had the last word,” but the increase in positive coronavirus virus left the rights holder with little alternative.
[ad]
