Indian Wells Tennis Tournament Canceled Because of Coronavirus Outbreak

There have been at least 539 cases counted in the U.S. across 34 states and the District of Columbia, with 22 deaths. Worldwide, there have been 109,400 cases and 3,800 deaths.

Tommy Haas, the Indian Wells tournament director, left open the possibility of playing his tournament at a later date in the crowded tennis calendar.

“We are very disappointed that the tournament will not take place, but the health and safety of the local community, fans, players, volunteers, sponsors, employees, vendors, and everyone involved with the event is of paramount importance,” Haas said. “We are prepared to hold the tournament on another date and will explore options.”

But finding another two-week window on the overstuffed professional tennis calendar in 2020 will be a challenge. It is unclear, however, whether other upcoming tennis events will still be staged.

The Miami Open, scheduled to begin March 23 and similar in prestige to the BNP Paribas Open, has not yet been canceled. The Ultra Music Festival, another major international cultural event scheduled for March in the Miami area, has been called off for 2020.

“The intent is still for Miami to operate,” Simon said. “It’s obviously two weeks away, but right now our approach is we are planning to operate all of our upcoming events and put every precaution in place. But we will obviously continue to work with the event very closely and will have to monitor all the situations there.”

The BNP Paribas Open is offering ticket holders refunds or credits toward tickets for the 2021 edition of the tournament.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/08/sports/coronavirus-indian-wells-canceled.html