The Citi Open tennis tournament, which was slated to kick off on August 13 in the District, has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic and a number of issues related to that, “including various international travel restrictions.”
The 52nd annual tournament was supposed to be played at the District’s William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park.
“After months of tireless work by our team and close collaboration with our many stakeholders, we are heartbroken to announce that we must unfortunately postpone the 52nd Citi Open until the summer of 2021,” Citi Open tournament director Mark Ein said in a press release on Tuesday.
“With only 23 days left until the start of the tournament, there are too many unresolved external issues, including various international travel restriction as well as troubling health and safety trends, that have forced us to make this decision now in fairness to our players, suppliers and partners, so that they can have certainty around their planning.”
Organizers had stated last month that they were still planning to hold the tournament this year from August 13-21 without fans in attendance.
The event would be the first game of men’s professional tennis since the coronavirus pandemic started.
Approximately 80,000 people attended the 2019 Citi Open, which was an all-time attendance record. The Citi Open is expected to return in August 2021.