The ATP and WTA announced this morning that the two tours will extend their current suspensions of play through the end of July, impacting 10 more tournaments and bringing the total number of top-level pro tennis tournaments altered by the COVID-19 pandemic to 46. Tennis has stood still since March 11 when the BNP Paribas Open was canceled the night before the tournament was to begin. The ATP and WTA both suspended play in April, a competition pause that ran thru July 12 until this most recent extension. Two American ATP tournaments, the Hall of Fame Open (starting July 13) and Truist Atlanta Open (starting July 27), were caught up in the ATP’s half of the suspension extension, along with events in Sweden, Mexico, Croatia and Austria. Events in Hamburg and Switzerland that also fall under the new suspension had already been imperiled by bans on large gatherings thru Aug. 31 in their respective countries. Four WTA events were additionally impacted, including tournaments in Sweden, Switzerland, Romania and Latvia.
LOOKING TO '21: Truist Atlanta Open Tournament Dir Eddie Gonzalez confirmed that the Atlanta tournament will not take place in '20. He said competing against college and pro football in the fall, as well as an already crowded schedule for the tournament’s host site, Atlanta Station, made the decision to cancel, instead of postpone, a clear one. Gonzalez said the tournament will undoubtedly take a financial hit, but that the event’s parent company, GF Sports, “will weather this, we’ll be fine.” Gonzalez: “We’re committed to making our 2021 event even more of a financial and experiential success.” The Hall of Fame Open, in Newport, R.I., is also canceled for '20. The HOF inductions of Conchita Martinez and Goran Ivanisevic will be celebrated in '21. “As a non-profit organization, the Hall of Fame Open and Enshrinement Weekend are primary funding elements for the International Tennis Hall of Fame,” HOF CEO Todd Martin said. “These events bring thousands of people to Newport and our campus to experience the National Historic Landmark and tour the museum. The events are critical revenue streams that fuel the delivery of the Hall of Fame’s mission to preserve and celebrate tennis history and inspire the sport’s future.”
