China cancels international sporting events for remainder of 2020
China has announced the cancellation of all international sporting events for the remainder of 2020, which will have a significant impact on the remainder of the tennis season.
Tennis – WTA Tour Finals – Shenzhen Bay Sports Center – Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China – November 3, 2019 Hungary’s Timea Babos and France’s Kristina Mladenovic react during their doubles final against Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Czech Republic’s Barbora Strycova
China is cancelling all international sporting events for the remainder of 2020 in a move to contain the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Associated Press.
The mandate, which comes from the General Administration of Sports in China, promises to be a crippling one for the ATP and WTA Tours. The WTA has seven events on the calendar in China, including the lucrative WTA Finals in Shenzhen, scheduled from November 8-15, while the ATP has four events scheduled in China, including the Shanghai Masters (11-18 October).
Very rough news for the WTA in particular unless there is some loophole. Would wipe out most of their fall schedule and the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, which is the major revenue source for the tourhttps://t.co/kqjduQZ9rz
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) July 9, 2020
The WTA, in a statement released to Tennis Majors, says that the decision is not final as far as it is concerned.
China has all but quelled the virus on its soil, save for minor flare-ups due to travel. The nation’s case count peaked in mid-February but since then has been brought down to virtually zero. China’s total case count stands at 84,950 with 4,641 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The decision is a move to avoid further increases that may come from international travel. The worldwide confirmed case count smashed through 12,000,000 yesterday, and is now averaging nearly 200,000 new confirmed cases each day. America has been hardest hit with over 3,000,000 confirmed cases registered. Brazil (over 1,700,000), India (over 750,000) and Russia (over 700,000) have also been under siege.
Here is a full list of the WTA events scheduled for China this autumn:
- China Open, Beijing, October 12-18
- Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, October 19-25
- Jiangxi Open, October 19-25
- Zhengzhou Open, October 26-November 1
- Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, November 8-15
- WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, November 17-22
- Guangzhou Open, November 23-29
And a full list of the ATP events scheduled for China this autumn:
- Chengdu Open, September 28-October 4
- Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships, September 28-October 4
- China Open, Beijing, October 5-11
- Rolex Shanghai Masters, October 11-18
