The Italian Open is in Doubt

prairiegirl

Hall of Fame
Italy has now closed all schools and universities for the time being. I highly doubt this will go forward. FO could be in doubt too?
 

Mark-Touch

Legend
Has there ever been a pro tennis tournament played where all fans seated in the stands were wearing face masks?
 

TheGhostOfAgassi

Talk Tennis Guru
French Open, Wimbledon, US Open could all be in jeopardy if the situation is not getting better, which is very unlikely ATM. Either they will be cancelled, or only players are allowed to play on court, no spectators.
Seems like the reasonable thing to do imo.
 
D

Deleted member 770618

Guest
Lebron says he's not playing if there are no fans. Will the big 3 follow his example?
 

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Internet is overhyping the virus and its effects..
Bird flu, Ebola, Swine flu, were all way worse than this.
people are Overreacting all over the world.
The captain of The Titanic thought that was a tiny bit of ice he scraped.

There are about 4K deaths worldwide in the 60 days or so since word leaked out of Wuhan epidemic. That kill stat is if you trust the Chinese to be accurate. I don’t so it may be even higher, especially if the numbers in Italy (463 in two weeks) show how fast it is killing people.
 

roysid

Hall of Fame
I don't want to be an a hole but tennis tournaments are the last thing any of us should be thinking about right now
You're right. Health precaution is much more important than tennis tournaments.

As for Italian open, I don't see it happening. Northern Italy is locked down. And even when all virus cases are closed, people would still be careful and in no mood to occupy huge stadiums
 

roysid

Hall of Fame
I don't want to be an a hole but tennis tournaments are the last thing any of us should be thinking about right now
You're right. Health precaution is much more important than tennis tournaments.

As for Italian open, I don't see it happening. Northern Italy is locked down. And even when all virus cases are closed, people would still be careful and in no mood to occupy huge stadiums
 

stringertom

Bionic Poster
You're right. Health precaution is much more important than tennis tournaments.

As for Italian open, I don't see it happening. Northern Italy is locked down. And even when all virus cases are closed, people would still be careful and in no mood to occupy huge stadiums
The whole country is now locked down. All Italians are being asked to stay in their homes unless for emergencies until further notice to allow the government to address a medical system about to crater. Monday’s death count was over 100, bringing totals to nearly 500.
 

ScottleeSV

Hall of Fame
I can see the Miami Open going ahead (with restrictions), aided by the Trump administration's doctoring of figures

Monte Carlo - looks dodgy tbh

Rome - seriously no chance of even happening

Madrid - possibly behind closed doors. If you're familiar with watching the early week sessions in the Magic Bowl, it often feels like they're playing behind closed doors anyway

French - will go ahead I think simply as a defiant statement

Wimby - Yes, maybe with only Centre and Court 1 accepting fans. I don't think they'll want the usual scrummage around the outside. Murray Mount forget it.
 

Desertman

Hall of Fame
I can see the Miami Open going ahead (with restrictions), aided by the Trump administration's doctoring of figures

Monte Carlo - looks dodgy tbh

Rome - seriously no chance of even happening

Madrid - possibly behind closed doors. If you're familiar with watching the early week sessions in the Magic Bowl, it often feels like they're playing behind closed doors anyway

French - will go ahead I think simply as a defiant statement

Wimby - Yes, maybe with only Centre and Court 1 accepting fans. I don't think they'll want the usual scrummage around the outside. Murray Mount forget it.
If it continues the way it has been progressing so far, and I see no reason for it to diminish, then NONE of the above will go ahead, unless they're behind closed doors with no public attendance. It would be reckless in the extreme to do otherwise.
 

ScottleeSV

Hall of Fame
If it continues the way it has been progressing so far, and I see no reason for it to diminish, then NONE of the above will go ahead, unless they're behind closed doors with no public attendance. It would be reckless in the extreme to do otherwise.

I agree with you that that should happen (no play at all) but this is a greedy selfish world with vested interests. Money etc. We'll sure see what happens as the bodies pile up.
 

Halba

Hall of Fame
all will be cancelled. no masters means no valuable clay court practise for the players. french open will be cancelled. you have to be consistent.
 

BGod

G.O.A.T.
95% of being cancelled.

Italy has gone from 130 to 160 to 200 deaths a day. A major tournament would need at least a month to prepare after getting go ahead.
 

Joseph_K

Hall of Fame
ATP Suspends Tour For Six Weeks Due To Public Health & Safety Issues Over COVID-19


Suspension across ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour events

The ATP has announced a six-week suspension of the men’s professional tennis tour due to escalating health and safety issues arising from the global outbreak of COVID-19. The suspension means all ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour events scheduled up to and inclusive of the week of April 20 will not take place.

Following the recent cancellation of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the affected ATP Tour events are the Miami Open presented by Itau, the Fayez Sarofim & Co U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston, the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, and the Hungarian Open in Budapest.

The six-week suspension comes in the wake of the World Health Organization’s declaration on Wednesday that COVID-19 constitutes a global pandemic and the 30-day travel restriction announced by the United States for foreign nationals from 26 European countries. The suspension follows numerous local government orders on restrictions, bans or cancellations of public gatherings or events. The ATP has been closely monitoring the rapidly evolving situation related to COVID-19, taking advice from medical experts and travel advisors and consulting with all local regulatory authorities, and will continuously review the feasibility of subsequent events in the calendar.

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, said: “This is not a decision that was taken lightly and it represents a great loss for our tournaments, players, and fans worldwide. However we believe this is the responsible action needed at this time in order to protect the health and safety of our players, staff, the wider tennis community and general public health in the face of this global pandemic. The worldwide nature of our sport and the international travel required presents significant risks and challenges in today’s circumstances, as do the increasingly restrictive directives issued by local authorities. We continue to monitor this on a daily basis and we look forward to the Tour resuming when the situation improves. In the meantime, our thoughts and well-wishes are with all those that have been affected by the virus.”

The suspension of ATP events takes place with immediate effect, meaning this week’s ATP Challenger tournaments in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, and Potchefstroom, South Africa, are not able to be completed.
The ATP is carefully reviewing the broad impact of this evolving situation related to FedEx ATP Rankings points, and any decisions will be announced in due course. In addition, in full collaboration with the ITF, FedEx ATP Rankings points will not be available at any ITF World Tennis Tour events during the suspension period.
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Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
Research team has isolated the COVID-19 virus

researchers.jpg


A team of researchers from Sunnybrook, McMaster University(opens in a new window) and the University of Toronto(opens in a new window) has isolated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the agent responsible for the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19.

Thanks to nimble collaboration, the team was able to culture the virus from two clinical specimens in a Level 3 containment facility.

The isolated virus will help researchers in Canada and across the world develop better diagnostic testing, treatments and vaccines, and gain a better understanding of SARS-CoV-2 biology, evolution and clinical shedding.

“Researchers from these world-class institutions came together in a grassroots way to successfully isolate the virus in just a few short weeks,” said Dr. Rob Kozak, clinical microbiologist at Sunnybrook. “It demonstrates the amazing things that can happen when we collaborate.”

“Now that we have isolated the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we can share this with other researchers and continue this teamwork,” he said. “The more viruses that are made available in this way, the more we can learn, collaborate and share.”

Congratulations to Dr. Samira Mubareka and Dr. Rob Kozak of Sunnybrook and University of Toronto; Dr. Arinjay Banerjee and Dr. Karen Mossman of McMaster University.
 
D

Deleted member 770948

Guest
Lebron says he's not playing if there are no fans. Will the big 3 follow his example?
No chance of that.
The Big3 are smart people.
Whereas LeBron is known for being one of the biggest idiots in the world, an expert at saying bone-headed things.
No person in their right mind would follow LeBron....
 
D

Deleted member 770618

Guest
No chance of that.
The Big3 are smart people.
Whereas LeBron is known for being one of the biggest idiots in the world, an expert at saying bone-headed things.
No person in their right mind would follow LeBron....
Things have changed dramatically in one week since he said that, people still trying to wrap their heads around this thing.
 
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