WTA Tour suspends play until May 2 amid coronavirus pandemic

The WTA is halting all play until May 2 in response to the coronavirus outbreak, the tour announced Monday. Upcoming tournaments in Stuttgart, Istanbul, and Prague have been suspended as a result.

"We will make a decision in the week ahead regarding the remaining WTA European clay court events and will continue to monitor this situation closely and its impact on the 2020 WTA Tour season," a spokesperson said in a statement.

The ATP Tour took a similar approach last week, confirming the suspension of all events up to and including the week of April 20.

The next Grand Slam on the calendar for both the men's and women's tours is the French Open, which is currently slated to begin in mid-May in Paris.

"You can't say there isn't a danger, but it's nice to know they are nearly 60 days out, which is a lot of time," Steve Simon, the chief executive of the WTA, told the New York Times' Christopher Clarey last week after the ATP halted play.

"I would be hopeful that in that time we would be in a position that things will have gotten back to whatever the new norm is and the French Open would be able to happen," Simon said. "But I think it is going to be very tight, and I know they have to be very nervous about it for sure."