The 2020 editions of the Davis Cup and Fed Cup finals are postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the International Tennis Federation (FIT) announced on Friday June 26.

Scheduled initially in November in Madrid, the final phase of the Davis Cup was rescheduled the week of November 22, 2021 in the Spanish capital. As for that of the Fed Cup, which was to be held in April, it is now set for April 13 to 18, 2021, in Budapest. The French women's team is the title holder.

Due to the health crisis, the two final phases scheduled for 2020 in Budapest (@FedCup) and Madrid (@DavisCupFinals) are postponed to 2021 >> https://t.co/zxzRaljoVG#TousEnsemBleu pic.twitter.com/dTHwHUhJS5

- FFT (@FFTennis) June 26, 2020

Considerable challenges

These announcements come at a time when the WTA [female] and ATP [male] circuits, which have been stopped since the beginning of March, are due to 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," explains FIT in a press release. "The challenges of organizing an international gathering of this magnitude in a closed room are considerable due to the pandemic, both under current and foreseeable conditions" in the medium term.

Teams keep their place

Regarding the Fed Cup, "in addition to the fact that the Laszlo Papp room, the theater of the competition, is unavailable during the last part of the year, there are still considerable logistical and regulatory questions which make it necessary to organize 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 place and the tables remain valid, specifies the federation.

The various dams that were still on the 2020 calendar are also pushed back to 2021.

With AFP

The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app

google-play-badge_FR