Silicon Valley women’s tennis tourney canceled

Mubadala event at San Jose State was scheduled for Aug. 39

In an announcement that came as little surprise, the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic will not be held in San Jose next month due to the continued global health concerns regarding the coronavirus.

The women’s tennis tour event was due to be held Aug. 39 on the campus of San Jose State. “We were looking forward to once again bringing this worldclass event to the Bay Area,” tournament director Vickie Gunnarsson said in a statement, “but our priority remains the health and safety of everyone involved, including the local community. We thank our players, fans, partners and staff for their ongoing support, and are preparing for an exciting return next year.”

For years a fixture at Stanford, and known as the Bank of the West Classic, the tournament has suffered from sparse attendance and subpar fields since moving to San Jose two years ago. The event has drawn some big names, notably Venus and Serena Williams in 2018, but most top players choose to remain in Europe at that time, or compete that same week in the Washington, D.C., event. San Jose’s two finals have matched Maria Sakkari against Mihaela Buzarnescu (who prevailed 61, 60) and Aryna Sabalenka against the victorious Zheng Saisai (63, 76).

It’s unlikely the women’s tour will resume play until the Western & Southern Open, a lateAugust event normally played near Cincinnati. Plans are in the works to have it staged in New York just prior to the U.S. Open (Aug. 24Sept. 13) at the same National Tennis Center site. The pandemic has left everything subject to change or cancellation, but the postponed French Open is scheduled for Sept. 21Oct. 11 in Paris.

On Thursday, French Open organizers announced they would admit fans at Roland Garros up to 50%60% capacity.