By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday March 11, 2020
Sources say that the ATP and WTA Tours are in talks and planning a six-week hiatus due to the impact and spread of Coronavirus across the globe.
Reportedly there will be an announcement on Thursday about the subject.
It has been a hectic day in the sports world, and the tennis world as well. The ITF announced the postponement of the Fed Cup Finals and Play-Offs early on Wednesday, and later in the day the Easter Bowl tournament was cancelled as well as the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge.
Across the sports world the news was bad as the NCAA announced that March Madnes would be played without fans this year. Later in the day, the NBA announced that one of its players tested positive and it would be suspending the league until further notice.
In Europe, two prominent footballers tested positive for Coronavirus, raising fears that the spread of the virus might already be happening among athletes.
Governments and sporting authorities are moving to try to contain the virus and the situation is very fluid, so even a six-week ban for the tour would not necessarily be a locked-in time frame. There are too many unknowns at the moment and too many areas where virus confirmations are on the rise.
There are currently over 125,000 confirmed cases of Coronavuris. Italy has been hit the hardest of late, with over 12,000, up from around 4,000 on Sunday.
Stay tuned to Tennis Now for a full report on Thursday’s development across the WTA and ATP Tours.