The uncertainty over the security situation in the region has forced the cancellation of this year’s Tel Aviv Watergen Open tennis tournament that was to be held next month, the organizers said on Wednesday.
The ATP-250 event, which was won last year by Novak Djokovic, was to have been held between November 5-11. The organizers said they still hope to hold the event in 2024.
“[The organizers] will continue in their efforts to hold the event next year to afford the ticketholders to enjoy this sporting event. The organizers pray for the recovery of the injured and share in the grief of the bereaved families in these dark days,” part of the statement said.
Last September, Tel Aviv hosted an ATP Tour event for the first time since 1996 with the participation of Djokovic, Marin Cilic, Diego Schwartzman and Dominic Thiem, among others.
Not the first time
Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, the Israel Tennis Association had already cancelled several lower-level international tournaments that were either ongoing, or were due to be held in Israel in the coming weeks.
This is not the first time that plans to hold major tennis events have had to be cancelled because of violence emanating from the Gaza Strip. There was a similar scenario in 2014 when both an ATP event and a top women’s event, that had been planned to be held in Tel Aviv had to be canceled because of the 50-day war that year.