The Latest on the effects of the new coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
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The CEO of World TeamTennis says the league has sent $1,000 each to about 60 players and coaches as a "gift" to help them deal with the financial hardships presented by the coronavirus pandemic.
Carlos Silva said in a telephone interview Thursday that the payments were not an advance of salary for the nine-team league, which was founded by Billie Jean King in the 1970s.
Explained Silva: "It wasn't so much about the money, but a way to say, 'Thank you,' and just so they could use it for some rent or some groceries or anything they might need."
All professional tennis events have been postponed or canceled until early July because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
There will be some tennis to watch on TV this weekend, though: A WTT all-star event featuring 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Madison Keys and other players will air Saturday on CBS. It was filmed March 1.
Silva said WTT is still planning to launch its three-week season on July 12, but will continue to monitor the situation and offer periodic updates.
Matches are slated to be held that day in Washington, Orlando, San Diego and Springfield, Missouri.
That date also was supposed to be when the men's final was played at Wimbledon.
But the All England Club announced Wednesday that its Grand Slam tournament would not be played this year.
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The New England Patriots' private team plane is returning to Boston from China carrying more than 1 million masks critical to health care providers fighting to control the spread of the new coronavirus.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker secured the N95 masks but had no way of getting them to the U.S.
Team owner Robert Kraft stepped in and offered to help. The plane, a Boeing 767 painted in the team’s colors and logo, is usually used to carry the team to and from NFL games. It is expected back in Boston on Thursday.
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The World Games that were more than a year away have been delayed to 2022 because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Olympic-style event for sports that are not on the Summer Games program had been scheduled for July 15-25, 2021, in Birmingham, Alabama. But those dates now overlap with the Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed for a full year while the world deals with the pandemic.
The International World Games Association and Birmingham Organizing Committee announced Thursday that the 11th edition of the World Games will now be held on July 7-17, 2022.
The World Games began in 1981 and are held every four years to showcase disciplines that are not on the Olympic program, such as sumo, floorball, billiards, lifesaving, orienteering, dance sport and tug of war.
Birmingham won the right to stage the 2021 competition, beating out Lima, Peru, and Ufa, Russia, to become the first U.S. host since Santa Clara, California, for the inaugural World Games.
Birmingham had expected some 3,600 athletes from more than 100 nations to participate.
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Iowa State coaches and other athletic department staff members are getting pay cuts for one year to help offset lost revenue from the coronavirus pandemic.
Athletic director Jaime Pollard wrote on the Cyclones' website that his department faces a $5 million shortfall this year because of the cancellation of the NCAA and Big 12 men's basketball tournaments.
The payroll cut will save more than $3 million. There also will be a temporary suspension of bonuses for coaches totaling another $1 million.
Previously announced increases in Cyclone Club annual giving levels have been delayed, prices for season and individual game ticket prices have been frozen for all sports and the deadline for booster club donations and football season ticket renewals has been extended to May 29.
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The Belgian soccer league has become the first major European competition to recommend ending its season with the current standings declared final because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The league says Club Brugge would be awarded the title if the advice is confirmed at a general assembly meeting on April 15. Brugge would also qualify for next season's Champions League.
Brugge is currently 15 points ahead of second-place Gent with one game to go before the season-ending playoffs.
The league management board has agreed it is unclear when team training could resume and says it is “very unlikely” any games with fans attending could be played before June 30.
The league says even games in empty stadiums would put stress on public health and security services dealing with the pandemic. It agreed the risk of infecting players would also damage the competition’s integrity.
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The Senior PGA Championship in Michigan has been canceled.
The PGA of America says it based its decision on Michigan’s stay-at-home order that was enacted March 23.
The Senior PGA in Benton Harbor, Michigan, was to be played May 21-24. It will be held next year at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It will return to Benton Harbor the following year.
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World Athletics says it won’t clear any Russian athletes to compete internationally amid the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The governing body of track requires Russians to apply for “authorized neutral athlete” status each year to compete outside their home country. Russia has been suspended from World Athletics since 2015 for widespread doping.
World Athletics spokeswoman Nicole Jeffery says in e-mailed comments that “the ANA system only applies to international competition, so until there is competition there is no need for any athlete to apply.”
She adds that “for the next two months, at least, there is no competition, so the system does not need to be active until we know when the competition schedule can resume.”
World Athletics hasn’t decided how far in advance to open applications once competitions resume. High jump world champion Mariya Lasitskene and pole vault world champion Anzhelika Sidorova are among those who need their status renewed from last year.
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British Open organizers say postponement is an option for this year's tournament at Royal St. George’s because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The R&A released a short statement in response to media speculation about the staging of the event in July. Chief executive Martin Slumbers says the “process is taking some time to resolve” because of a range of external factors.
Slumbers says “we are well aware of the importance of being able to give clear guidance to fans, players and everyone involved and are working to resolve this as soon as we can.”
The 149th edition of the Open Championship is scheduled to take place July 16-19. The last time the Open wasn't played was in 1945 because of World War II.
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The French Grand Prix scheduled for May 17 in Le Mans has been postponed, becoming the sixth MotoGP race to be called off because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The motorcycling series has yet to start its season.
The season-opener in Qatar was canceled, the Thailand, Americas and Argentina races were postponed to October-November, and the Spanish MotoGP has yet to find new dates.
The next race at risk is the Italian MotoGP on May 31.
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World Sailing has canceled the World Cup Series Final in Enoshima, Japan, in June because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The regatta was to give valuable competition for the Olympic classes just over a month before the start of the Tokyo Games.
The Olympics have been postponed to 2021.
World Sailing and Japanese officials were in talks to return to Enoshima in 2021 before the rescheduled Olympics.
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Brescia president Massimo Cellino says he will forfeit his team's remaining Serie A matches if the Italian soccer league resumes.
Brescia is the third-worst hit province in Italy with more than 8,500 coronavirus cases and more than 1,300 deaths.
In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Cellino says “this season doesn’t make sense anymore.”
He says “returning to activity is pure craziness. If they force us to I am ready to not put out the team and lose the matches 3-0 by default out of respect for the citizens of Brescia and their loved ones who aren’t here anymore.”
Brescia is in last place in the league standings. The president of Lazio recently accused Cellino of trying to avoid relegation.
Cellino says “I don’t care at all about relegation. So far we have deserved it and I have my blame in that, too."
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Potential hosts of soccer's 2027 Asian Cup have been given more time to enter the contest by the Asian Football Confederation.
The AFC says the March deadline to show interest was extended by three months to June because many of its member federations have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Saudi Arabian soccer body said in February it wanted to host the 24-team tournament.
China will host the 2023 edition. A return to western Asia is possible after the United Arab Emirates staged the 2019 tournament.
The AFC is planning for a 2027 tournament but a FIFA task force drafting a future calendar of matches and tournaments will likely be asked to align continental championships. The European Championship and South America’s Copa America are on track to kick off in June 2028.
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