ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi says that it is business as usual on the ATP tour despite the coronavirus scare.  Although Indian Wells has been canceled, it appears that all other tournaments will proceed as planned.  Things can always change, but this is ATP’s position today.

Gaudenzi, in a statement, said, “While we regret that the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells will not take place, the ATP Tour calendar beyond Indian Wells remains as status quo. We continue to monitor the situation daily, working closely with our player and tournament members with the understanding that direction must be taken from local public health authorities. We are committed to exploring all options for the operation of upcoming tournaments as the health and safety of our players and all other stakeholders remain our top priority. Any further updates will be communicated on ATP platforms.”

Whether this means tournaments will proceed without fans is not clear.  It’s going to be a disaster to hold a tournament that fans can’t attend.

ATP has economic reasons for maintaining the status quo in the face of the coronavirus epidemic.  In addition, there does not appear to be much precedent in awarding ranking points fairly to players if a tournament is canceled.