Coronavirus: Fed Cup Finals In Budapest Postponed | Tennis News
Subsequent month’s Fed Cup tennis finals in Budapest had been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, the ITF stated on Wednesday. The made over 12-team ladies’s festival scheduled for April 14-19 in addition to a chain of play-off ties had been referred to as off “based on COVID-19 well being issues”, the ITF stated in a observation. “After cautious attention and shut dialogue with the ITF Board, the Native Setting up Committee and in gentle of lately’s announcement through the Hungarian govt referring to indoor occasions, it’s with feel sorry about that the ITF has introduced the postponement of the Fed Cup Finals,” it added.
Hungary on Wednesday issued a ban on public gatherings of greater than 100 other people indoors and 500 other people open air till additional understand.
The top of the International Well being Organisation stated the brand new coronavirus outbreak can now be characterized as a virulent disease.
“We’re extraordinarily dissatisfied to need to make this choice, however we can now not possibility the protection and welfare of avid gamers, captains, tournament body of workers or spectators,” stated ITF president David Haggerty.
“This choice has now not been made calmly; the danger posed through the COVID-19 is a significant one and requires us to behave responsibly as a federation and as human beings. This case is going past game.
“New dates for the Finals and for the Play-offs shall be introduced in the end and can basically be guided through the duration of time that tennis as an entire is suffering from COVID-19.”
8 play-off ties had additionally been scheduled to be held at more than a few venues world wide from April 17-18.
The transfer to reform the Fed Cup adopted a similar overhaul of the Davis Cup in males’s tennis, with Madrid internet hosting the inaugural finals in Madrid remaining November.
The former structure, which noticed the eight-team International Staff determined over 3 ties separated over the process the season, was once criticised for being too strung out and now not protective participant welfare which led many most sensible avid gamers to forestall representing their international locations.
The brand new-look match will be offering a complete prize pot of $18 million with $12 million going to avid gamers and $6 million to nationwide tennis associations.
The finals will function 4 teams of 3 groups, with the winners progressing to the semi-finals and ultimate. All suits will consist of 2 singles and one doubles.
France received remaining 12 months’s festival after defeating Australia Three-2 within the ultimate in Perth.