Indian Wells organisers announce a raft of health and safety measures for Masters 1000 tournament which runs from March 11-22
Sunday 8 March 2020 11:34, UK
Tennis players at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells will have to manage their own towels on court and ball boys and girls will wear gloves as organisers announce coronavirus countermeasures.
The measures were announced Friday by tournament organisers, who are offering fans uneasy about the coronavirus a refund for this year's event, which runs from runs from March 11-22, or a credit for next year.
Other precautions include over 250 hand sanitising stations set up throughout the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Besides ball kids, restaurant and food supply workers will wear gloves as will volunteers handling tickets at entrances.
This year's field at the combined ATP and WTA event includes world No 1 Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff.
The WTA and ATP have also jointly announced a series of precautionary health measures that will be implemented on-site in Indian Wells, the Miami Open and the Volvo Car Open in Charleston.
"The health and safety of our players, fans, staff and tournament personnel is paramount and, as the outbreak of COVID-19 continues, these are common sense precautions for us to take," said the ATP and WTA in a joint statement. "We continue to monitor this closely on a daily basis, working with our players and tournaments, as well as public health authorities as the situation evolves globally."
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