Tennis Canada has announced that the Coupe Rogers in Montreal has been postponed until 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19…
Coupe Rogers postponed until 2021 due to COVID-19
The Coupe Rogers has been postponed until 2021 (Photograph by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire) (Credit Image: © Julian Avram/Icon SMI via ZUMA Press)
Tennis Canada has announced that the Coupe Rogers in Montreal has been postponed until 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Originally scheduled for August 7-16, Tennis Canada was forced to cancel the Coupe Rogers tournament for 2020 following safety measures put in place by the Quebec government to combat COVID-19.
The tournament will instead be held from August 6-15 in 2021.
Following the measures imposed by government authorities in the province of Quebec, Tennis Canada announces the postponement of the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
The tournament will take place from August 6 to 15, 2021, as Montreal will host the women’s eventhttps://t.co/YH45UoEYr8
— Coupe Rogers (@CoupeRogers) April 11, 2020
The postponement means Montreal will now play host to the WTA Coupe Rogers in 2021. Traditionally, Montreal and Toronto take turns each year to stage the ATP and WTA tournaments in Canada.
Toronto is still scheduled to host the ATP Masters 1000 event this season, but with all forms of tennis suspended until July 13 at the earliest and countries closing their borders, it’s almost certain that more tournaments will be abandoned in the coming weeks and months.
“At the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis we were hoping that the situation would be resolved in time to be able to host our tournament as initially planned on the calendar, but we knew that the chances were getting smaller and smaller in recent weeks,” tournament director Eugène Lapierre said.
“Our priority in the management of this crisis has always been to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our players, fans, volunteers, partners and employees. It is thus with a heavy heart that we received this news, but we understand that this decision was necessary.”
Defending champion and homegrown star Bianca Andreescu took to social media to share her disappointment at the news.
We can’t wait to welcome you in 2021, @Bandreescu_! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/tPbx8Bn8Mx
— Coupe Rogers (@CoupeRogers) April 11, 2020
It’s also a major blow to Tennis Canada, who said 90 per cent of the funds they provide for development of the sport in the country is generated from the Montreal and Toronto tournaments.
“Rogers Cup is the engine of tennis development in Canada. Ninety percent of the money that we successfully invest in the development of our sport each year comes from the profits of our tournaments,” said Michael Downey, President and CEO at Tennis Canada. “It goes without saying that 2020 will be a very difficult year for our organisation.”
