Paris (AFP)
The 2020 editions of the Davis Cup and Fed Cup finals are postponed to 2021 due to the new coronavirus pandemic, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on Friday.
Originally scheduled for November in Madrid, the final phase of the Davis Cup was rescheduled the week of November 22, 2021 in the Spanish capital. That of the Fed Cup, which was to be held in April, is now fixed from April 13 to 18, 2021, still in Budapest. The French women's team is the title holder.
These announcements come at a time when the WTA and ATP circuits, which have been stopped since the beginning of March, must resume from August, and the US Open (August 31-September 13) and Roland-Garros (September 27- October 11) must follow quickly.
"The competition was to welcome more than 90 players accompanied by considerable teams, as well as thousands of spectators, officials, managers, partners and other stakeholders from multiple countries, each at different stages in the management of the pandemic. The challenges to organize an international gathering of this magnitude in a closed room are considerable because of the pandemic, both under current conditions and those foreseeable "in the medium term, the ITF explained in a press release.
With regard to the Fed Cup, "besides the fact that the Laszlo Papp room (theater of the competition, editor's note) is unavailable during the last part of the year, there remain considerable logistical and regulatory questions which make that organizing a large indoor meeting by ensuring the health and safety of all is not feasible, "she said in another statement.
The qualified teams - 18 for the Davis Cup and 12 for the Fed Cup - keep their places and the tables remain valid, specifies the ITF.
The various dams that were still on the 2020 calendar are also pushed back to 2021.
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