ATP adjusts tennis calendar for first quarter of 2021, Indian Wells on hold

The coronavirus pandemic continues to reshape the men's tennis calendar with Indian Wells absent from the schedule for the eight weeks following the Australian Open, released by the ATP on Tuesday.

Indian Wells in California is traditionally the first Masters event of the year on the men's tour and runs alongside a women's tournament.

The ATP said that "due to the impact of COVID-19" it would not be held on "its customary dates in March."

The tournament organizers released a statement saying: "This decision was made after thorough consultation with state and local health authorities."

"The tournament is proactively working with the ATP and WTA Tours as well as title sponsor BNP Paribas to confirm dates later in the year to hold the event."

California is suffering a spike in virus cases.

"As of December 28, California has 2,155,976 confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in 24,284 deaths. The number of COVID-related deaths increased by 0.3 percent from the prior day total of 24,220," the state government said on Monday.

The tournament organizers said they anticipated that new dates would be arranged.

The Australian Open, originally scheduled to start on 18 January, had already been pushed back to 8-21 February in a reconfigured schedule for the first seven weeks of 2021 released on 17 December.

from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/3nZK80k