ATP suspends tour for up to six weeks due to Coronavirus outbreak

The ATP has announced a six-week suspension of the tour due to the outbreak of COVID-19 also known as Coronavirus which affects both the ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour.

This means that all events up to and including the week of April 20 will not take place. This follows the recent cancellation of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells; as well as earlier today in the form of the Miami Open.

Event also set to not take place include Houston, Marrakech, Monte Carlo; Barcelona and Budapest; with further doubts on the rest of the season as a result of the outbreak.

Statement from ATP

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman said the following: "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 are currently reviewing the affect on the rankings; as a result of postponing events; with the decision set to be announced in due course.

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