By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, August 4, 2020
Spiking Coronavirus cases causes the cancellation of the Mutua Madrid Open.
Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open Facebook
Spiking Coronavirus cases combined with safety concerns have knocked Madrid off the calendar.
The Mutua Madrid Open officially cancelled today.
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The tournament, originally scheduled for May 1-10th, was rescheduled for September 12-20th after the entire spring clay-court season was erased by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tournament officials spent months planning safety protocal designed to protect players and staff, however the risk was deemed to great. Deputy Minister of Public Health Antonio Zapatero and government officials advised against hosting the Mutua Madrid Open next month due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the area.
"Following the strong recommendation of the local health authorities, and having monitored the situation for months, the organizers of the Mutua Madrid Open have no choice but to cancel the tournament due to the complex situation that covid-19 continues to generate in every regard," the Mutua Madrid Open announced in a statement. "In addition, and after a spike in Covid-19 cases, the Community of Madrid announced few days ago a number of new measures to control the virus’s spread, including a directive that social gatherings are to be reduced to 10 people, both in public and private meetings, further reducing the feasibility of operating the tournament."
Mutua Madrid Open tournament director Feliciano López announced the 2021 edition of the tournament is scheduled for April 30th-May 9th.
Fans who purchased tickets for the 2020 tournament can keep those tickets and "are guaranteed tickets for the same session and seats in 2021," the tournament said in a statement.
“We have given our all to stage the tournament”, said López. “After the first cancellation in May, we got to work on the September date with the hope of being able to enjoy first-class tennis in the Caja Mágica during this year which has been so hard for everyone.
"However, the continued instability is still too great to hold a tournament like this in complete safety. Once again, we would like to thank the Madrid City Council and all of our sponsors and suppliers for being by our side during every step we have taken."
In a joint statement, the ATP and WTA Tours said they are assessing the post-US Open calendar and expect to announce an updated calendar "in due course."
"The ATP and WTA regret to confirm the cancellation of the 2020 Mutua Madrid Open, a decision that has been taken in line with local authorities due to health and safety concerns," the Tours said in a joint statement. "We would like to recognize the efforts of the tournament organizers who have gone to great lengths in exploring all options to run this year’s tournament, despite the many challenges presented by COVID-19.
"Both tours are assessing updates to the 2020 provisional calendars in regards to events following the US Open, and an update will be published in due course."
Rome remains scheduled for September 20-27th before Roland Garros is set to start on September 27th.
Under an agreement with Spanish government officials, players traveling from New York City to Madrid for the Mutua Madrid Open reportedly would not have faced any quarantine coming from the United States.
At the moment, the same agreement does not exist with Italian officials so it's uncertain if players leaving the US Open and flying directly to Rome would face a possible quarantine.