The return of the professional tennis circuit was pushed further behind as the cancellation of Citi Open, which was to kick-start the resumption of the men’s tennis tour in August, was announced on Tuesday.
The ATP 500 tournament in Washington DC was to be the first event of the revised men’s tour that has been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the international travel restrictions and rising number of Covid-19 cases in US saw the organisers postpone the tournament to 2021.
“With only 23 days left until the start of the tournament, there are too many unresolved external issues, including various international travel restrictions as well as troubling health and safety trends, that have forced us to make this decision now in fairness to our players, suppliers and partners, so that they can have certainty around their planning,” the organisers said in a statement.
“We are very disappointed that we could not provide players this competitive opportunity and tennis fans around the world their first chance to once again experience the thrills of watching an ATP Tournament. Sports play a very important role in uniting our communities, inspiring our youth, stimulating our economies and providing joy to fans around the world and we look forward to bringing that back to the world next year,” it added.
The Citi Open was due to start on August 14 and was restricted to being just a men’s tournament this year. Nick Kyrgios is the defending champion.
The ATP tour is now expected to restart with the Western & Southern Open, which has been moved from Cincinnati to New York. It was to serve as a lead-up to the US Open, which has also been placed under a cloud with this cancellation.
Here’s the full text of their statement
After months of tireless work by our team and close collaboration with our many stakeholders, we are heartbroken to announce that we must unfortunately postpone the 52nd Citi Open until the summer of 2021.
With only 23 days left until the start of the tournament, there are too many unresolved external issues, including various international travel restrictions as well as troubling health and safety trends, that have forced as to make this decision now in fairness to our players, suppliers and partners, so that they can have certainty around their planning.
We are very disappointed that we could not provide players this competitive opportunity and tennis fans around the world their first chance to once again experience the thrills of watching an ATP Tournament. Sports play a very important role in uniting our communities, inspiring our youth, stimulating our economies and providing joy to fans around the world, and we Look forward to bringing that back to the world next year.
We want to express our deepest gratitude for the support of all of our stakeholders who stood with us throughout this unprecedented planning process, in particular the players, ATP and WTA Tours, USTA, Mayor Muriel Bowser and her team across the Washington, OC Government, National Park Sevice, WTEF and our partners from Citi, MedStar Health, GEICO, Events OC, Insperity and Tennis Channel.
We look forward to hosting another memorable Citi Open, an American Summer Tennis Tradition, in August 2021, in front of the enthusiastic, sold out crowds that our incredible tennis community has generated for over 50 years.
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