Wuhan Open tennis tournament slated to go ahead in 2020

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Image Courtesy: AFP

World sports was suspended due to the novel Coronavirus pandemic for the past few months. In accordance to normalcy in a number of countries who have been on the path to recovery, there have been a slow resumption of sports, especially football such as Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga, all of which comign back into action. However, chance of hosting a sporting event right in Wuhan, the city which was the epicentre of the COVID-19 crisis in China? the 2020 Wuhan Open has just been confirmed!

Image Courtesy: AFP

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour has just released its updated schedule for the  2020, and in addition to a number of events through the months of August and September, the global organising body of women’s tennis has confirmed the 2020 Wuhan Open to take place in October.

The Wuhan Open has been scheduled to be held from 19th to 25th October, in the same city which had seen a casualty of almost 4000 due to the virus. However, several factors and regulations regarding the safety of players, travel relaxations and government approvals can have an impact on the proposed schedule in the near future.

“It’s hugely symbolic”, Brenda Perry, the co director of Wuhan Open recently stated.

 “I’m thrilled for all my colleagues and friends in Wuhan, and what this will mean to the city and the people of the city,” Perry said in an interview with AFP, “They went through what seemed to me one of the most stringent lockdowns in the world.”

The 62 year old further emphasised on the strict lock down that Wuhan had went through, and the recovery process afterwards had her confidence to host such an event in the city.

“I would be the very first person to put up my hand if I thought it was not safe to be going there,” Perry added.

After a gap of five months, tennis will restart on 3rd August with the Palermo Ladies Open in Italy.

“Having assessed the global outlook for travel in the latter half of the year, working with our medical experts on providing the safest environment possible, and working through the diverse operational challenges for running events safely in the context of COVID-19, the WTA is pleased to release a calendar for the remainder of the 2020 season,” Steve Simon, the CEO and Chairman of WTA said after the calendar release.

Followed by the Palermo Open, the 2020 Cincinnati Masters will start on 21st August in New York, just before the start of US Open on 31st August.

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