The tournament was supposed to the first one on the revised schedule
The ATP has unfortunately decided to cancel the Citi Open due to the growing issues about the coronavirus and international travel restrictions. Christopher Clarey of the New York Times first reported this story. Many countries have imposed a 14 day quarantine period for anyone who enters the country. The tournament was scheduled to be played from August 13-21, a week before the US Open.
Despite the tournament being canceled, US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster said the Major is still on track to be played for both the men and women. Europe started slowly opening up to foreign travelers as of July 1st when they released a list of 14 countries allowed to enter. The United States was not on that list, and the situation in the US has not since improved, unfortunately.
Most states that reopened early have had to close down again or impose some restrictions as cases continue to spike. We will have to see if the U.S. will be able to control the spread and the cases because unfortunately as of right now they have not done a good job.
ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi commented on the cancellation of the tournament on the ATP website. “It’s disappointing that due to these unprecedented times, the Citi Open will not be able to go ahead this year,” “I know how hard Mark Ein and his team have worked to adapt to new and continually changing conditions and would like to recognize their outstanding commitment to staging the event. Unfortunately for the moment, there are still large factors at play which are outside of our control. We look forward to the Citi Open returning as one of our signature American events in 2021.”
Mark Ein released a statement as well when he announced the tournament was being canceled, in the same ATPTour.com article. “After months of tireless work by our team and close collaboration with our many stakeholders, we are heartbroken to announce that we must, unfortunately, postpone the 52nd Citi Open until the summer of 2021. With only 23 days left until the start of the tournament, there are too many unresolved external issues, including various international travel restrictions as well as troubling health and safety trends, that have forced us to make this decision now in fairness to our players, suppliers, and partners, so that they can have certainty around their planning.”
The ATP is continuing to work on the revised schedule and says they will have an update within the next two weeks, including scheduling final events of the season, which will include the Nitto ATP Finals in November.
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