Breaking News: BNP Paribas Open cancelled amidst concerns over Coronavirus

Monday, 09 March 2020 at 04:40

The 2020 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells will not be held this year following the confirmation of a case of Coronavirus in the vicinity.

In an attempt to protect the players, attendees and anyone involved with this event, the Riverside County Public Health Department declared a public health emergency for the Coachella Valley after a case of the coronavirus was confirmed locally.

“There is too great a risk, at this time, to the public health of the Riverside County area in holding a large gathering of this size,” said Dr. David Agus, Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California.

“It is not in the public interest of fans, players and neighboring areas for this tournament to proceed. We all have to join together to protect the community from the coronavirus outbreak.”

This was done following the guidance of medical professionals, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and State of California.

“We are very disappointed that the tournament will not take place, but the health and safety of the local community, fans, players, volunteers, sponsors, employees, vendors, and everyone involved with the event is of paramount importance,” said Tournament Director Tommy Haas. “We are prepared to hold the tournament on another date and will explore options.”

This is not the first tennis event to get cancelled, as the WTA took a similar course of action with their 125K Series tournament in Anning, China. The ATP Challenger circuit previously cancelled a few events being held in China this spring as a precautionary measure, as the coronavirus outbreak rages on. BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells is the first major tournament to be canceled due to coronavirus.

Arthur Ajayi

Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.

As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.

With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.

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