Montreal cancels 2020 Rogers Cup

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The tennis world will be facing another blow after the Montreal tennis committee decided to cancel the Roger’s Cup this 2020.

Considered as one of the most anticipated tournaments before the US Open, the competition will not be played until 2021 in a statement released by the Women’s Tennis Association.

Scheduled on August 7-16, 2020, the Quebec Province urged tournament officials to cancel not only the Roger Cup but all sporting and cultural events to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eugene Lapierre, the Rogers Cup tournament director, confirmed the cancelation, emphasizing that the decision is to help safeguard the players and the employees’ safety.

“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. It is thus with a heavy heart that we received this news, but we understand that this decision was necessary,” Lapierre said.

After the French Open and Wimbledon confirmed their postponement due to the pandemic, several tourneys also took the courage to cancel their events in hopes to slow down the wide-spread of the virus.

“The WTA reiterates that health and safety will always be the top priority. We understand this was a difficult decision and we look forward to being back in Montreal in 2021,” WTA said in a statement.