We take a look at how the Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted Tennis Events in 2020. Most top events have been postponed or cancelled following the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Updates on Cancelled and Postponed Tennis Events

Coronavirus pandemic has brought an unexpected turn of events across major sporting events globally, including tennis events. The electric cheers and pre-match excitement has prematurely been cut short by this pandemic wave. Many tennis events that were earlier expected to grab the headlines have now been postponed or cancelled in line with the health guidelines. This wasn’t the wish of any tennis fan out there, but these decisions are inevitable under current situations. So let’s delve in and look at some of the major tennis events that have been cancelled or postponed.

BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells

The 2020 BNP Paribas Open is the 47th edition of ATP men and 32nd edition of WTP. The 2020 ATP tour and the 2020 WTA Tour classifies this tournament as an ATP Masters 1000 and Premier Mandatory event respectively. This is one of the thrilling Tennis Events that was scheduled to take place in March 2020 at Indian Wells, California. However, the declaration of a public health emergency for the Coachella Valley due to Coronavirus pandemic triggered postponement. The tournament’s director confirmed they are optimistic that the event won’t be cancelled and will be rescheduled to another convenient date. Meanwhile, the officials are exploring plenty of other viable options to hold this year’s edition.

The initial entry list consisted of all the top 75 WTA and ATP Tour singles. Players. Five-time champion Roger Federer had pulled out of the championships after undergoing knee surgery. Dominic Thiem and Bianca Andreescu were seeking to defend their titles this year.

Wimbledon

The 2020 Wimbledon Grand Slam tennis tournament has been cancelled. This means the 134th series which was originally scheduled for June 29 to July 12 will not be held this year. After a keen analysis of the current Covid-19 crisis, the officials saw it necessary to cancel this year’s championship and the next edition will now be held on June 28-July 11, 2021.

Wimbledon championship series have always transpired uninterrupted since inception except for the World War disruption. So the last time the Wimbledon tournament was cancelled was during World War 2.  The board has assured fans who had already paid for the tournament via Wimbledon public ballot that they will be refunded and given a chance to purchase the 2021 series tickets.

Miami Open tennis tournament

The Miami Open tennis tournament has followed suit to cope with the situation by cancelling its 36th edition of men and women tournament due Coronavirus pandemic. The tournament was earlier scheduled to take place from March 23 to April 5, 2020, at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. Roger Federer was the men’s singles defending champion while Ashleigh Barty the women’s singles defending champion. However, Roger Federer withdrew prior to the cancellation after undergoing knee surgery. This year’s Miami Open Tennis tournament is off and will likely resume in 2021.

The Volvo Car Open

The 2020 Charleston Open series currently branded Volvo Car Open by its sponsor is also cancelled.  The 1973-founded tournament is the oldest annual women only tournament in the world of Tennis. This year’s series was scheduled to take place between April 4th to 12th  2020 at Daniel Island in Charleston. However, the tournament was cancelled after the tournament officials cited safety and health concerns amid the Corona Virus crisis. In its statement, Volvo Car Open reiterated they had explored other possible options like holding the tournament with the attendance of essential staff but dropped it because the tournament is a global event. All fans who had purchased tickets will now get a full refund or credit for the next Volvo Car Open tournament.

The French open

The French Open was the very first major tennis event to be rescheduled following the Covid-19 health crisis. The tournament also referred to as Roland-Garros is often played in late May every single year. It normally spans two weeks and is played at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France.

This year’s series was originally scheduled for May 24- June 7, 2020. However, it has been moved to somewhere around September 20th to October 4th 2020. Again authorities seem to confirm that the start date will likely move to September 27, 2020. If it does go as planned, then this will be the 124th edition of the French Open series.

Wrap up

The 2020 tennis calendar was expected to be buzzing in exciting events. However, the rapid spread of Covid-19 dented any hopes to run these events as earlier planned. Most of these events have either been cancelled or postponed. Most organizers are still clinging to the hope that these events can run even with Coronavirus pandemic still actively spreading. It remains to be seen how things will pan out in the midst of the deadliest pandemics in the past century.