ITF tournaments postponed due to Coronavirus concerns

TDT | Manama

Two of Bahrain’s biggest tennis tournaments this year, originally scheduled to be played over the next month, have been postponed due to Coronavirus concerns. The 2020 Bahrain ITF World Tennis Tour M15 Manama and the first Bahrain ITF Seniors Tennis Championship have both been put off.

The decision was made by the Bahrain Tennis Club (BTC) Board of Directors and has been made official by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The world tour event was scheduled to be held from March 23 to 28 at the BTC hard courts in Juffair, followed just a few days later by the seniors’ competition from April 1 to 6. No new dates have so far been set for either tournament. BTC hosts leading ITF competitions on a yearly basis.

The world tour is one of the most important and largest tennis events in the Kingdom and the Gulf region. It features many highly ranked professional players from around the world. Meanwhile, the seniors event was set to be the first-ever ITF tournament at that level to be held in the Gulf. It is a part of the ITF Seniors Circuit, which usually consists of around 450 tournaments taking place in 70 nations. Competition is held in 11 age categories, starting from 35-and-above through to 85-and-up in men’s and women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles.