Paris (AFP)
After postponing the Australian Open (February 8-21), the ATP, which oversees the men's professional tennis circuit, unveiled its schedule for the first quarter of 2021 on Tuesday, which does not include the traditional first Masters 1000 of the year at Indian Wells, postponed.
In a schedule changed due to the health context, the first ATP 500 of the year will take place in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, from February 27 to March 7, and the first Masters 1000 will be that of Miami in the United States, from the 22 March to April 4.
The coronavirus pandemic got the better of many events in 2020, including historic Wimbledon, and is already shaking up the year 2021 with the postponement of three weeks of the Australian Open.
Once the Melbourne page is turned, the ATP circuit will continue with two 250 tournaments in Cordoba (Argentina, February 20-28) and Montpellier (France, February 21-28) then the following week with Rotterdam.
Buenos Aires will host a tournament in parallel with Rotterdam, then will follow in March other 250 in Doha, Santiago, Marseille, and 500 in Acapulco and Dubai.
Finally, the last event on the unveiled calendar is the Miami Open, the first Masters 1000 of the season.
That of Indian Wells, initially scheduled for March 8 to 21, "is working with the ATP and the WTA (the women's circuit, note) to confirm other dates later in the year," said the organizers of the tournament Californian in a statement.
© 2020 AFP