Tennis schedule thrown into doubt as coronavirus surges globally

Following the cancellation of Indian Wells, the next portion of the tennis season is also being thrown into doubt as other tournament locations start experiencing coronavirus surges.

The first big reverberation came when tournament organizers said they would not hold the BNP Paribas Open, cancelling just a day before competition was scheduled to begin. It was the same day the local area announced its first coronavirus case. The next day, the area had six officially confirmed cases, according to officials.

Though ATP CEO Andrea Gaudenzi said the rest of the tour was "status quo" and WTA CEO Steve Simon called it "too soon" for speculation about other events, the day brought increasing questions about whether others will be affected.

The next big event is the Miami Open. Though organizers have said it is "moving forward as scheduled," incidences of the virus are rising in Florida two weeks before the event, and the music festival Ultra—which usually takes place alongside the tournament—has been postponed. The state declared a state of emergency as it reached 19 cases, having had just two a week ago.

The coronavirus has also been identified in the sport's next two stops, Houston and Charleston. Texas has 12 cases, including one just found in Houston, which holds an ATP event. Complaints of limited testing there indicate that the numbers could increase further. There have also been four incidences of the virus in South Carolina. That includes one in Charleston, where there is a WTA event.

Those are scheduled to be followed by the European clay-court swing, but countries there are currently experiencing a surge in cases. Italy now has more than 9,000 cases, the second most internationally behind China. It has been a little more than two weeks since the virus was identified there as widespread.

The count in France is more than 1,200 cases, while Spain and Germany have more than 1,000 each.

European governments have reacted by announcing increased restrictions, especially on large events. Italy is not allowing travel except for work and health purposes until next month, while France has banned events that involve a gathering of more than 1,000 anywhere in the nation.

While it is difficult to predict the rate of increase or the effect of restrictions in any specific region, it appears that containment takes some time. In China, where the virus appears to have originated and which has been most affected, the rate of incidences took around two months to slow down, and about a month since severe restrictions were implemented.

Jamie Murray on tennis' immediate future:

The first big European clay-court event, Monte Carlo, is scheduled to begin in five weeks and is located right next to Italy and France. It is followed by the ATP event in Barcelona, where organizers canceled their official opening this week because of coronavirus, and the ATP and WTA event in Madrid, where the virus count has now doubled in a day.

The Fed Cup finals, slotted for Budapest the same week as Monte Carlo, could also be affected—organizers will decide based on events in the "next two weeks." The first Premier WTA clay event is in the German city of Stuttgart, which, along with Munich, also holds a small ATP event.

While the WTA event in Lyon came just before France's public event restriction, it could have implications if it is still in place for the French Open in two and a half months.

Speaking two days ago, the French tennis federation's director general, Jean Francois Vilotte, said organizers don't expect to be affected since the event's grounds allow for a different "spectator flow" than a soccer stadium, and Court Philippe Chatrier is not a "confined" area and has open air seating.

The tournament also plans to take steps to guard against spread like having ball kids and staff wear gloves and providing extra sanitation products for spectators. Similar measures had been planned for Indian Wells, and are likely at Miami.

Even before this week, the sport had been affected at the lower levels. Several smaller tournaments, including two WTA events, ATP challengers, ITF events and some Davis Cup and Fed Cup ties had either been canceled, shifted or played with no spectators, reflecting coronavirus concerns.