By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday March 12, 2020
The Volvo Car Open in Charleston joined the list of tennis events to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic on Thursday.
The clay-court WTA event was set to celebrate its 20th year in Charleston. It was set to take place on April 4-12.
“The Volvo Car Open has been monitoring the evolving COVID-19 pandemic over the past several weeks and working diligently with all of our partners to develop policies and procedures for the overall health of our players, fans, partners, staff and volunteers during their visit to Charleston,” the tournament said in a statement. “Unfortunately with the worldwide concern of the spread of the coronavirus, the decision to cancel the Miami Open and the travel advisory issued by the WTA Tour for players, based upon travel restrictions on Europe, we cannot move forward with the 2020 Volvo Car Open, scheduled for April 4 – 12.”
The tournament added that it explored the possibility of playing the event without spectators but that ultimately it seemed to risky given the spread of the Coronavirus globally and the various travel bans that are now being enacted in the United States and Europe.
“We took the day to explore a variety of event scenarios, including hosting our tournament with only essential staffHowever, as we are a global sporting event, this scenario is not possible,” the tournament said. “We are now offering ticket holders a full refund or credit to the next Volvo Car Open. Visit volvocaropen.com/update to process a ticket request. This decision has been made for the health and safety of our players, employees, volunteers, fans, partners and everyone associated with the Volvo Car Open.”
The WTA has not joined the ATP in imposing a sweeping six-week shutdown of the tour and has yet to announce the status of the event in Bogota, which is scheduled for April 6-12, or Stuttgart and Istanbul, which are set to take place on April 20-26.
The Fed Cup final, scheduled for April 14-19, has already been cancelled, and the WTA Tour put out a statement regarding Miami and Charleston collectively.
“Due to safety and health concerns surrounding the coronavirus, as well as the travel restrictions imposed on entering the United States from Europe, the Miami Open and the Volvo Car Open in Charleston will not be held at this time," said Steve Simon, WTA Chairman and CEO. "There isn’t anything more important than protecting the health of our players, staff, volunteers, and fans who attend our events, along with the general public. We are disappointed but the decision has been made in the interest of public health and safety, which is the top priority. The WTA, working alongside our player and tournament leaders, will make a decision in the week ahead regarding the European clay court season.”