STARNBERG, April 6, 2020
According to Spain’s national daily sport newspaper Marca, the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) hopes to put on a domestic men’s tennis tour to enable the country’s top players to build match fitness.
Marca learned through RFET’s sporting vice-president Tomas Carbonell that plans were in the works for between eight and 10 tournaments subject to the definitive suspension of the mid-season on the ATP Tour, including the US Open. The tournaments could take place at clubs and academies all over Spain. Bilbao, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the Basque Country, announced to study the possibility of hosting one of the events.
The national circuit should feature the country’s Top 100 players: Rafael Nadal (World No. 2), Roberto Bautista (12), Pablo Carreno Busta (25). Albert Ramos-Vinolas (41), Fernando Verdasco (52), Pablo Andújar (53), Feliciano López (56), Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina (97) and Roberto Carballés-Baena (99).
All ATP and WTA tournaments have been called off until July 13, including all Spanish ATP Tour events in Barcelona, Madrid and Mallorca cancelled, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four ATP Challengers in Madrid, Marbella, Murcia and Villena were also postponed.