Virus causes tennis tournament in China to be canceled

Posted February 20, 2020 6:00 am

The Associated Press

XI'AN, China (AP) - A tennis tournament scheduled for next month in China was canceled by the women's professional tour because of concerns over a deadly viral outbreak.

The WTA announced Thursday that it was calling off the Xi'an Open 'œdue to the coronavirus outbreak.'ť

The hard-court event was supposed to be held April 13-19, with 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams. There would have been $115,000 in prize money at stake.

A statement issued by the WTA said the tour is 'œwatching the situation closely'ť and will 'œcontinue to communicate with medical experts as information evolves on this virus.'ť

The viral outbreak has infected more than 75,000 people around the world, most in China, where about 2,100 deaths have been reported.

Numerous sporting events in China have been canceled, postponed or moved. The country forfeited its Davis Cup matches at Romania scheduled for March 6-7 because its men's tennis team won't travel to the competition.

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More AP tennis coverage: https://www.apnews.com/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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