Indian Wells, first tournament victim of coronavirus

At Indian Wells, March 8, the day before qualifying begins. AL BELLO / AFP

Gloves and preventive measures have done nothing: the epidemic of new coronavirus spreads in California, forcing its organizers to cancel the tennis tournament of Indian Wells, one of the most important of the ATP and WTA circuits after those of the Grand Slam.

The announcement, feared by fans of the yellow ball, was made Sunday, March 8 at the end of the day on the eve of the first qualifying matches for the main draws.

Read also Quarantines, bans on assemblies, in camera: the consequences of Covid-19 worldwide

The stars, from the no 1 world Serbian, Novak Djokovic, to the American Serena Williams, passing by the Spanish Rafael Nadal and the no 1 Australian world champion Ashleigh Barty, some of them had already arrived in California, in order to prepare for this highly anticipated meeting each year.

“We are here deciding what to do. Too sad to see what's going on around the world because of this situation. I hope that solutions will be found soon. Stay all healthy and safe ”Nadal tweeted. " I am in shock ", wrote Canadian Denis Shapovalov on the same social network.

The Miami tournament in turn threatened?

For them, now, the gaze turns to Florida and the Miami tournament (which also belongs to the Masters 1000 and Premier Mandatory categories, the best endowed after the Grand Slam tournaments), scheduled in two weeks, but more than ever threatened by the Covid-19 epidemic in the United States, as in hundreds of other countries and territories.

While a state of emergency was declared in California on Friday, tournament management made its decision after "Riverside County public health department has declared a public health emergency for the Coachella Valley following a locally confirmed case of coronavirus".

"There is too great a risk to public health in the Riverside County area right now to host a gathering of this size"said Dr. David Agus, professor of medicine and biomedical engineering at the University of Southern California, cited in the release.

Saturday, the direction of the tournament had announced the implementation of measures of precautions, such as the compulsory wearing of gloves for the ball pickers, the volunteers responsible for taking the tickets and the employees of restaurants and points of sale of food. Over 250 hand disinfection stations had been installed on the site.

ATP and WTA added more recommendations on Sunday, not only for this tournament but for Miami and Charleston (WTA) to come.

The ball pickers will not handle players' towels or drinks. Who have been asked not to give away their personal belongings as they sometimes do when throwing them to the public.

"We are very disappointed that the tournament is not taking place, but the health and safety of the local community, fans, players, volunteers, sponsors, employees, vendors and everyone involved in this are of paramount importance ", summed up tournament director Tommy Haas, a former professional player.

The organizers "ready to organize the tournament on another date"

The latter, who invited ticket owners to be reimbursed or to request credits for the 2021 edition, said "Ready to organize the tournament on another date", without further details.

And for good reason: the calendar of the season is so dense that the slots are rare, a fortiori for a tournament lasting ten days like this. Especially since after Miami is supposed to start the clay court season in Europe, with Roland-Garros in sight.

"It is too early to speculate about the tournaments to follow, said WTA president Steve Simon in a statement. Health and safety will always come first. "

Coming after the Alpine Skiing World Cup finals in Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy and the Qatar Motorcycle Grand Prix this weekend, this cancellation due to the epidemic is one of the most important for a sports competition to date.

Across the United States, mass cultural events have also been canceled, such as the big South by Southwest festival, slated for mid-March in Austin, Texas. Close to Indian Wells is Coachella and its famous music festival. His outfit from April 10 seems very threatened.

Cycling: end of quarantine for Cofidis and Groupama-FDJ in the Emirates

After more than ten days of quarantine, the riders of the French cycling teams Cofidis and Groupama-FDJ, confined to a hotel in the Emirates days because of the epidemic due to the new coronavirus, announced Sunday their return to Europe. This quarantine placement had been decided after several Covid-19 positive cases were revealed that resulted in the cancellation of the last two stages of the UAE Tour.

" We're going back home ! ", reacted Arnaud Démare who was able to take a return flight on Sunday as did his three teammates David Gaudu, the Dutchman Ramon Sinkeldam and the Lithuanian Ignatas Konovalovas, according to information gathered from his Groupama-FDJ team. The riders and the management of the teams concerned, whose initial results were negative, recently passed new tests. Again negative.

The World with AFP

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