WORLD TENNIS' governing body has decided to move a Fed Cup group match from from China to Kazakhstan because of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Tennis big wigs have blamed "increasing travel restrictions in China” as the reason for moving the Asia/Oceania Group I fixture.
The International Federation of Tennis (ITF) made the announcement with a statement on their website.
The Fed Cup is a prestigious competition for women’s international tennis that has the highest number of participating nations.
Initially set to take place in the city of Dongguan in southern China, it will now be played in the National Tennis Centre in Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana), Kazakhstan.
The statement added: “The decision to move the event to a different venue was taken due to increasing travel restrictions in China at the present time and followed consultation with independent security advisers.”
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The stage will now take place between February 4 and February 8 and the tournament's finals are set for April 14-19.
Local media report the women’s football Olympic qualifiers in the region were also moved from the city of Nanjing in the Jiangsu province of China to the Australian capital city of Sydney for the "safety of all players".
Football Federation Australia chairman Chris Nikou said: “The safety of all players, officials and fans is of paramount importance to Football Federation Australia and the Asian Football Confederation.
“And we are confident we will host a successful tournament here in Sydney.”
There have reportedly been more than 4,700 cases of the deadly Coronavirus which has claimed 106 lives so far.
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