Tennis: ATP Tel Aviv Open canceled due to security situation in Israel

The ATP Tel Aviv Open tennis tournament, scheduled to start on November 5 in the Israeli coastal city, has been cancelled due to the security situation in the country, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the organising bodies in Israel said.

The ATP 250 event returned to Tel Aviv in 2022 for the first time since 1996. Last year, world number one Novak Djokovic won the title after defeating Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the final, Xinhua reports.

The Serbian star registered for the 2023 tournament as well, alongside the American rising star Ben Shelton, who last month reached the U.S. Open semifinals where he lost to Djokovic.

The ATP has not yet officially announced if the tournament will be moved to another country, but several global sports websites reported that it would be played in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia.