ATP calendar update: Indian Wells in October - what does that mean for European indoor tournaments?
The ATP sent a calendar update for the fourth quarter of 2021 to players and officials on Thursday. Accordingly, the Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 event should take place this season - in October. The consequences for the European indoor events are unclear.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: May 20, 2021, 07:57 pm
The Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 event will play an inglorious role in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, of all things, it was the popular event in California, which was supposed to be the starting point for a multi-month break in the ATP tour. Iconic character: An Instagram update from Dominic Thiem when you had to leave fully packed before the official start of the tournament.
On the one hand, there is good news to report from Indian Wells: The ATP Masters 1000 tournament will take place in 2021, as can be seen from a calendar update for the fourth quarter of 2021 of the ATP. On the other hand, this has very severe consequences - especially for the organizers of the European indoor tournaments in autumn.
What about European indoor tournaments?
For them, hosting a Masters event on the other side of the Atlantic is extremely tough competition. ATP boss Audrea Gaudenzi, on the other hand, is overjoyed at the return of the traditional event: "Everyone in our sport has the BNP Paribas Open in missed the last two years and her return this October is great for tennis, "the Italian statement is quoted as saying.
A common solution is the stated goal of the ATP, as Gaudenzi emphasized: "The calendar is extremely complex and I would like to thank all the events in this part of the season as we are trying to accommodate these changes for the benefit of the entire sport."
Date not yet finalized
The extent to which the postponement will affect the events in Europe can only be finally assessed once the exact date for the postponement of Indian Wells has been determined. The ATP stated in the broadcast that it wanted to announce this as well as the draw size of the Masters event in due course. In particular, the events in Asia, including Shanghai and Beijing, are likely to be a source of uncertainty.
More information will follow!