MIAMI, FL, USA - The 2020 Miami Open will not go ahead due to ongoing concerns about the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus), the tournament has announced.
The full statement is as follows:
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez has declared a state of emergency in Miami-Dade County and made the decision to suspend operations of the Miami Open due to the ongoing concerns regarding COVID-19 (coronavirus). Therefore, the 2020 Miami Open will not take place. We understand and support the Mayor's decision as the health and safety of the community and everyone involved with the event remains our top priority. Our team will be in touch in the coming days with ticket holders regarding refunds. We thank our fans, players, staff and partners for their support, and look forward to welcoming everyone back to Hard Rock Stadium for next year's Miami Open, March 24-April 6, 2021.
Statement on the 2020 Miami Open. pic.twitter.com/MkOZ4kwffF
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 12, 2020
“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," says 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.”
Meanwhile, the ITF also announced that it will take the precautionary measure to postpone all ITF-owned and sanctioned events across the men's and women's ITF World Tennis Tour, the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors, the ITF Beach Tennis World Tour and ITF Seniors Tour until at least the week of Monday, April 20. This will include the Fed Cup Finals, originally scheduled to be held between April 14-19 in Budapest, as well as the Fed Cup Play-Offs, scheduled for the weekend of April 17-18 at eight locations around the world.
This will be reviewed on a weekly basis by the ITF with the goal of enabling the resumption of playing opportunities as soon as the situation allows.
The ITF's full statement can be viewed here.