Professional Tennis World shut down by coronavirus

The coronavirus has caused the tennis world to react, and the ATP’s immediate decision is to shut down the entire Men’s professional tennis tour for six weeks. Although this week’s Indian Wells tournament had previously been canceled, or postponed, if you believe the tournament director Tommy Haas, this new edit affects some big Spring tournaments both in the United States and The Continent.

Immediately affected are the Miami Open in Florida, the U.S. Clay Court Championships in Houston, the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, the Monte-Carlo Masters in Monaco, the Barcelona Open in Spain, and the Hungarian Open in Budapest. The six-week cancellation also applies to the ATP Challenger Tour, ATP’s version of the tennis minor leagues, which will cause tournaments in Kazakhstan and South Africa, which have been underway, to be abandoned and not completed.

If, and when, the Tour is to resume depends on a number of important variables, not least of which is the eventual global spread of the virus, the reaction of various global health organizations, and even the travel restrictions placed on travel abroad by the United States government.

A determination as to how this suspension will affect ATP Ranking Points has not been made yet but is currently under discussion.