The Int'l Tennis Federation told Israel on Thursday that "it could not host its Davis Cup World Group playoff against Argentina in Tel Aviv next month because of safety concerns caused by the conflict in the Gaza Strip," according to Ori Lewis of REUTERS.
The ruling body that organizes the men's team competition said that "while the military conflict seemed to be slowing down, there was no certainty that this would be the case at the time of the tie that is due to take place in five weeks."
The Davis Cup committee said that it "felt that its first priority was to ensure the safety of the players, officials and the public, and regretfully decided that the tie would not be held in Israel as originally scheduled."
Israel "has been given until next Thursday to nominate an alternative venue to host the Sept. 12-14 tie." An Israeli Tennis Association spokesperson said that venues in eastern Europe, the U.S. or Canada "are seen as possible options." On Monday, the inaugural $1M ATP Israel Open that had been scheduled to be held in Tel Aviv "was canceled by the governing body of men's tennis because of the Gaza conflict" (REUTERS, 8/7).
