HEILBRONN, April 23, 2020
Only one month ago, there was still hope that the seventh edition of the NECKARCUP could take place this year. On Thursday, however, organizers of the ATP Challenger tournament announced the postponement to 2021 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Last week, Chancellor Angela Merkel of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) agreed with Germany’s 16 states that major events in the country will be banned in principle until the end of August as part of measures to stall the spread of COVID-19. Bigger sporting events will not be allowed to go ahead with crowds. The NECKARCUP was scheduled to be held at the Tennis Club Trappensee in Heilbronn from May 11 to 17.
Die Corona-Krise aus Sicht der Turnierveranstalter.
Metehan Cebeci, Turnierdirektor des @ATPChallenger NECKARCUP Heilbronn, zu Gast in der letzten Ausgabe der #ChallengerCorner.🎧https://t.co/JsAnPqn8JZ
— TennisTourTalk (@TennisTourTalk) March 28, 2020
“We are prepared and still ready to go,” tournament director Metehan Cebeci, who also runs his own tennis academy, said on March 25 during an episode of our tennis podcast “Challenger Corner”. Cebeci and his team also discussed the possibility of postponing the tournament to a later date in autumn. “Of course we need to monitor further health developments,” he added.
Now it is certain that the popular clay-court event, which received the ATP Challenger of the Year Award in the past three years, will return in May 2021.
