Lower-ranked players most hit as ATP rejigs calendar in Coronavirus aftermath

A last-minute cancellation of an event would cause greater problems to lower-ranked players, as tournaments accept entries based on rankings. As such, a shortage in the supply of tournaments may force lower-ranked players to miss a week’s play. But the outbreak of the coronavirus, which has reportedly claimed nearly 500 lives after breaking out in Wuhan, has caused tennis authorities to take serious steps. The regional Fed Cup tie, which was originally to be hosted in Dongguan, had been shifted out to Nur-Sultan in Kazakhstan before the International Tennis Federation (ITF) decided to postpone the tie. As far as the ATP Challenger tour goes, though, China and the other countries in the Far East have been a favoured destination for Indian players.

Last year, Mukund played seven tournaments in China – including events in Shenzhen and Zhangjiagang which have been cancelled this year – one in Taiwan and three in South Korea. World no 182 Ramkumar Ramanathan played in China three times, twice in South Korea, and one each in Japan and Taiwan. Meanwhile, India’s highest-ranked player, Prajnesh Gunneswaran played five events in China and one in Taiwan. Placed at 122 in the world, the task of making it to Challenger events around the world would be much easier for Prajnesh. “I was supposed to play Challengers in China, but I am not going because the tournaments are cancelled. But it doesn’t really make it more difficult,” he says. “There are other tournaments which I will be playing. It is a bit more tricky in the sense that it involves more travelling.”