Rogers Cup women’s tennis tournament in Montreal off schedule for 2020

MONTREAL — The Rogers Cup women’s tennis tournament will not be played this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tennis Canada announced Saturday the event, scheduled for Aug. 7 to 16 in Montreal, is off the schedule.

Quebec’s government announced Friday no sporting events could be held through Aug. 31, though it left the door slightly open for pro teams.

Tennis Canada says the women’s event will return to Montreal in August 2021.

The women’s and men’s Rogers Cup traditionally rotate between Toronto and Montreal.

As of Saturday, the men’s event still is on schedule for Toronto in August 2020. A Tennis Canada spokesperson said planning will continue for the Toronto event until Ontario or the city reach a similar decision as Quebec, or the ATP Tour continues its suspension of play.

Canadian Bianca Andreescu won the women’s tournament last year in Toronto.

“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,” Montreal tournament director Eugene Lapierre said in a statement.

“Our priority in the management of this crisis has always been to ensure the safety and well-being 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.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2020.

The Canadian Press