WTA Insistently Holds Tournaments In China

JAKARTA - Although Chinese authorities insist that they will not hold any international sporting events this year except for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the WTA Tour insists on holding a series of the Bamboo Curtain Country tournament.

China's top sports body, the General Administration of Sports (GAS), has just published a detailed policy document to implement this year. The point is to reduce the exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Meanwhile, WTA has scheduled at least seven tournaments in China in their new calendar for the 2020 season. Including the WTA Finals in Shenzhen scheduled for October-September.

"To our understanding, the reports circulating about the rules of international sporting events in China do not reflect the final decision," said the official WTA statement quoted by Antara, Tuesday, July 21.

"We are still on the path of an initial decision regarding the timeline for the WTA Tour 2020 calendar, which is scheduled to start at the end of July," the statement continued.

The WTA Finals are usually followed by the eight best singles players and the best eight women's doubles, which last year distributed a total prize pool of US $ 14 million. This year marks the first time the WTA Finals has been held in Shenzhen.

The director of the Wuhan Open, Brenda Perry stated, WTA continues to communicate with GAS and the Chinese Tennis Association. He said, certainty about the tournament was only a matter of patience.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in China in February, the country has succeeded in reducing levels of exposure to the virus. However, the country's authorities are still cautious regarding the policy of holding sports events.

Basketball will become the first professional league to continue in China in June while football is scheduled to start the 2020 season in July. Each of these sporting events was delayed by five months.

So far there has been no definitive decision regarding tennis tournaments in China. According to a source in China, the final stance will be determined at the end of July.

Tennis is not the only sport that hopes to hold international tournaments in China. There is Formula One, golf and esports events which also have the same expectations.