A number of Czech tennis stars will settle in a domestic tournament on May 26-28 in Prague, while all other top tennis is stopped because of the corona pandemic.

Among the contestants are two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova, world coach Karolina Pliskova and her twin sister Kristyna (69th on the world rankings). In addition, two other women's players are top-35 in the world: Karolina Muchova (26th) and Barbora Strycova (31st).

- I look forward to playing a tournament after a long time. I am very curious about what form we will be in when we have not played, says Kvitova, who started training with the racket in hand on the course at Valborg fair evening.

The proceeds to alleviate the pandemic's adverse effects

On the men's side, the highest-ranked player in the tournament will be Jiri Vesely, 65th in the world.

The Czech Tennis Association has announced that the tournament's revenue will go towards reducing the effects of the new corona virus outbreak in the Czech Republic, where 280 people have so far died as a result of the virus.

ATP and WTA have paused the competition calendar until at least July 13. French Open has been moved from May to September and Wimbledon has been completely canceled.