Organizers advised not to hold Madrid Open amid COVID-19 surge

MADRID (AP) The organizers of the Madrid Open tennis tournament have been advised by local health authorities in the Spanish capital to not hold the rescheduled event in September due to the resurgence of the coronavirus in Spain.

The tournament organizers said on Saturday that they had requested an evaluation of the health situation in the city and that regional health officials ''advised not to stage the tournament due to the current trend of COVID-19 cases.''

The organizers said they are ''analyzing and closely evaluating all the possible options, while always focusing on guaranteeing the safety of all those involved in the tournament.''

The tournament is scheduled to be played from Sept. 12-20.

Spain's biggest tennis event was postponed from the spring due to the severe virus outbreak that only a three-month lockdown of the country managed to get under control. With the economy back in motion, there has been a worrying uptick in cases in recent weeks.

Spain's health ministry reported more than 1,500 new confirmed cases nationwide on Friday, with more than 300 detected in Madrid.