WTA cancels Kumming Open due to Coronavirus outbreak

The WTA Tour has cancelled the women's Kumming Open tournament, scheduled to begin on April 27 in Anning, China, due to the coronavirus.

The Kumming Open is an annual tennis tournament that has been held in Anning since 2012, beginning with the men's Challenger series. The women's first event began in 2014, it is played on clay and is a part of the WTA 125K series.

However, the WTA Tour released a statement stating that the tournament will not be held this year due to the recent coronavirus outbreak that is sweeping across the globe.

“This decision has been made in the best interest of our players, tournament and WTA staff and fans. We look forward to competing in Anning in 2021 along with the 2020 WTA events that are scheduled to take place this fall. We continue to communicate with medical experts as information evolves on this virus and we will continue to remain vigilant in managing this challenging situation."

Following the cancellation of the Xi'an Open a few weeks ago, this will be the second WTA 125K series event that has been cancelled because of the virus. The ATP Challenger Tour has also cancelled a few upcoming events to be held in China this spring.

The flu-like coronavirus originated in China late last year and has infected close to 90,000 people globally, resulting in over 3,000 deaths.

There is some uncertainty regarding future WTA events being held in China this year, with tournaments scheduled for coronavirus epicenter Wuhan, Beijing and Zhuhai amongst others. Shenzhen also plays host to the season-ending WTA Finals in November, an event that sees the top 8 players competing for the final trophy of the year.