Covid spike in Austria forces Davis Cup ties behind closed doors

Due to a lockdown in Austria, all ties in Innsbruck will have to take place without an audience at the Olympia-Halle.

Davis Cup, On this day

November 19, 2021

A covid surge in Austria will force the Davis Cup to play several ties behind closed doors. Due to the measures taken by the Austrian government, the Davis Cup Finals 2021 Group C (France, Great Britain, Czech Republic) and Group F (Germany, Austria, Serbia) ties will have to take place without an audience in Innsbruck’s Olympia-Halle.

The Davis Cup sent out more details in an email on Friday.

The Davis Cup finals begin on November 25, with six teams in Innsbruck, six in Madrid and another six in Turin.

It’s a tough blow for the teams in Group C and Group F, especially Team Austria, which had hoped to benefit from a home-court advantage. Austria is responding to record case numbers and one of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe. According to the New York Times, Austria is averaging over 12,000 new cases per day.

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Haggerty and Rojas: Disappointed

ITF President David Haggerty and Kosmos CEO Enric Rojas will have to come up with plans for ticket refunds, and hope that situations don’t worsen in Turin and Madrid. The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus – Spain won the last Davis Cup Finals, in 2019.

“I know the teams, organisers and everyone involved in the event will share our disappointment that the Davis Cup Finals event in Innsbruck will now be behind closed doors. We will continue to work together with our partners and ensure that we prepare for this great event while following all government guidelines”, says ITF President, David Haggerty.

“We are very sorry for the tennis fans, who have been looking forward to this event for months now. We know the importance of fans for a competition like Davis Cup. But there is no question that we will carry all the measures that are being applied to help confine and improve the current critical Corona situation. The health and safety of all those involved with the event is our highest priority”, adds Kosmos Tennis CEO, Enric Rojas.