Battle of the Brits tennis event in Aberdeen next week postponed until next year amid Covid-19 spread; Andy and Jamie Murray, Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans were among players set to take part in the event, pitting Scotland's best male tennis players against their English counterparts
Friday 17 December 2021 16:27, UK
The Battle of the Brits tennis event in Aberdeen has been postponed due to the rising spread of Covid-19.
The exhibition tournament pitting the best male players from Scotland against their English counterparts was scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, with Andy and Jamie Murray, Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans among those due to take part.
But the rapid increase in cases of Covid-19 and concern over the impact of the Omicron variant has led tournament director Jamie Murray and his organising team to postpone it until 2022.
He said: "Obviously this is incredibly disappointing for all of us organising the event, for the players and, most importantly, for the fans who wanted to come and watch us.
"Andy and I, and all the players due to take part, are absolutely gutted but some things are bigger than tennis. All that matters is keeping everyone safe.
"We've been blown away by Aberdeen's enthusiasm for the event and we're all looking forward to staging the Schroders Battle of the Brits - Scotland versus England in 2022."
Andy Murray missed out on a long-awaited Australian Open return earlier this year after an ill-timed bout of the illness and he revealed on Thursday that a planned family Christmas in Scotland has been cancelled.
News of the event's postponement came shortly after Scottish Premiership side St Mirren cancelled training following a number of positive Covid-19 tests returned by players.
The club are awaiting further PCR test results, however, Wednesday night's game against Celtic is still due to go ahead.
A statement on the club's website read: "St Mirren Football Club can confirm that following recent lateral flow testing we have unfortunately received a number of positive COVID-19 cases.
"Training has been suspended, but as it stands our upcoming matches will still go ahead. However, we will continue to monitor the situation over the coming days.
"The health and wellbeing of our players and staff remains our utmost priority. St Mirren Football Club will make no further comment at this time."`
