ATP Cup, NWHL, NLL: Pro Sports Continues To Face Major Covid Challenges
Thursday, February 4, 2021 at 12:29PM By Barry Janoff
February 4, 2021: Three separate sports groups had to deal with significant challenges on Wednesday stemming directly from the on-going COIVD-19 pandemic.
The ATP Cup, National Women’s Hockey League and National Lacrosse League each cancelled plans, with the ATP and NWHL seeing coronavirus tests come back positive within each of their respective competitions.
Concurrently, the NBA said Wednesday that “of the 482 players tested for COVID-19 since Jan. 27, “zero new players have returned confirmed positive tests.”
The ATP Cup, being played this week in Melbourne with the top men’s tennis players in the world, stopped play — as did other ATP and WTA Tour competitions taking place in Australia — after a hotel worker at a tournament quarantine facility tested positive for COVID-19.
The events are a lead-in to the already rescheduled Australian Open Grand Slam, Feb. 8-21.
Players traveled to Australia early and have spent weeks in quarantine to adhere to government protocols.
According to Tennis Australia, “As a consequence, play the ATP Cup, two ATP 250 tournaments and three WTA 500 tournaments will not happen.
“Health Authorities have advised us that a hotel quarantine worker has tested positive for COVID-19. Those associated with the Australian Open who quarantined at the hotel now need to be tested and isolate until they receive a negative test result.”
ATP Cup said today that play would resume on Friday with three group stages in Melbourne Park.
The NWHL said Wednesday it would suspend the current season “due to new positive COVID-19 tests.”
The semifinal round of the Isobel Cup playoffs were scheduled for Feb. 4, the Finals for Feb. 5, both to air nationally on NBCSN.
The NWHL has been playing the 2021 season in the Herb Brooks Arena, Lake Placid, NY.
Two teams— the Metropolitan Riveters and Connecticut Whale — withdrew from the tournament this past week due to positive COVID-19 tests.
Last year’s championship game between Boston Pride and Minnesota also was postponed and then ultimately cancelled.
According to the NWHL on Twitter: “The NWHL and the Olympic Regional Development Authority have agreed, due to new positive COVID-19 tests and the resulting safety concerns for the players, their respective staff and the community that the remainder of the 2021 NWHL season in Lake Placid have been suspended.”
The NLL also said Wednesday that “plans for an abbreviated season this spring “have been cancelled due to uncertainties arising from the ongoing Pandemic.
“The league, with the full support of the NLL Board of Governors, will now move to start a traditional season in the fall of this year.”
The NLL is planning to start in the fall playing a complete season into the Spring 2022, with schedule details to come.
“We have gone through many scenarios, including playing a bubble season in Canada in April, but the logistical challenges, including the recently announced tighter travel and quarantine restrictions across the Canadian border have required us to pivot,” NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz said via the league.
“We have decided to focus on playing a full season in our markets, starting in the fall of this year.”
The cancellation move was a powerful blow for the NWHL.
The NWHL Isobel Cup Semifinals and Final on NBCSN were to mark the first women’s pro hockey games to be shown live on a major national cable network in the United States.
Dick’s Sporting Goods earlier in the day was named resenting sponsor of the 2021 Isobel Cup Trophy presentation and the Isobel Cup Final MVP Award. Discover Financial Services signed a major deal with NWHL last week.
Regarding the NLL, Sakiewicz said, “While many of the factors we can control were moving along well, those outside of our control, especially pertaining to obtaining government approval as far in advance as we would have needed, are no longer feasible.
All the efforts and innovations we were planning will now go towards a full season starting this fall and into next year . . . we will be back, and it will be even more exciting than ever before.”
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