Reuters Sports News Summary
Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Morning skates and practices canceled over coronavirus
The National Hockey League (NHL) has advised its 31 teams to refrain from holding morning skates, practices or meetings on Thursday while it considers how best to deal with the coronavirus threat. The NHL move came a day after the National Basketball Association (NBA) suspended its season until further notice after a player tested positive.
Men's tennis, NBA basketball, La Liga soccer: coronavirus shreds sports calendar
The global sporting calendar has been shredded by the coronavirus pandemic, with men's tennis shut down for six weeks, top European soccer leagues on hold and the NBA having announced a suspension until further notice. Poignantly, the Olympic flame was lit in ancient Olympia but the road to the Tokyo Olympics appears, at present, a distant one with the spread of the virus impacting across all sports.
ATP suspends men’s tennis tour for six weeks over coronavirus
The ATP suspended its professional men’s tennis tour for six weeks on Thursday, citing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, which has upended major sporting events across the globe. The announcement came moments after Miami-Dade County said it would suspend the Miami Open and following Sunday’s last-minute cancellation of the Indian Wells tournament in Southern California.
Alpine skiing: Men's final races canceled, Norway's Kilde wins overall title
The final races of the men’s Alpine skiing have been canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak, the International skiing federation (FIS) said on Thursday, meaning Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde won the overall title. "Due to the outbreak and situation with the novel coronavirus, the upcoming men's World Cup races in Kranjska Gora (Slovenia) have been canceled," the FIS said in a statement.
Second player for NBA's Utah Jazz tests positive for coronavirus
A second player for the NBA's Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19, the team confirmed on Thursday, a day after the league said it was suspending the season until further notice amid the global coronavirus outbreak. The team did not disclose the player's identity, though media reports said it was All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell who had tested positive.
Athletics: Russian federation fined $10 mln for breaching anti-doping rules
The Russian athletics federation has been fined $10 million for breaching anti-doping rules and a maximum of 10 Russian track and field athletes will be allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics as neutrals, World Athletics said on Thursday. Russia's athletics federation was suspended in 2015 after a report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found evidence of mass doping among track and field athletes in the country.
Motor racing: Australian GP to be called off after coronavirus tests - reports
Formula One's season-opening Australian Grand Prix is set to be called off due to the coronavirus outbreak, multiple reports said on Friday. McLaren already announced on Thursday they were pulling out after one of their employees tested positive.
Tokyo 2020 torch lit behind closed doors in ancient Olympia
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch relay got under way on Thursday when the flame was lit by the rays of the sun in ancient Olympia in a scaled-down ceremony overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic. Actress Xanthi Georgiou, in the role of high priestess, used a parabolic mirror at the site of the ancient Greek Olympics to ignite the torch, before handing it to Greek Olympic shooting champion Anna Korakaki, the first woman to ever launch an Olympic relay.
NBA suspends season after Jazz player tests positive for coronavirus
The National Basketball Association (NBA) said on Wednesday it was suspending the season until further notice after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for the coronavirus. The test result was reported shortly before the Jazz were due to play the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The game was then scrapped.
Miami Open tennis tournament suspended over coronavirus
The Miami Open, which brings together the top men's and women's tennis players in the world, has been suspended due to growing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in the United States, the Miami-Dade County mayor said on Thursday. "Although we do not have community spread at this time, we want to take the preemptive steps to keep it that way," Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez said in a written statement cancelling mass gatherings in the area.
