Wuhan Tennis in Oct

SHANGHAI: Staging the Wuhan Open later this year will send a powerful message about the city’s recovery from coronavirus and have an impact that stretches beyond tennis, the tournament’s co-director told AFP.

The central Chinese city was the original epicentre of the pandemic and nearly 4,000 people died from the disease there before it spread worldwide. But the annual Wuhan Open is now pencilled in for October 19-25 after the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) this week released its provisional calendar for the rest of the year.

The schedule “is conditioned on several key factors” including player safety, government approvals and relaxation of travel restrictions, the WTA said. At present, most foreign nationals are barred from entering China.