The WTA has announced that the Women’s Tour will be suspended until at least May due to fears concerning the coronavirus.
Both the WTA and the ATP had already postponed all professional tennis until April, but were hopeful that much of the clay court season would still go ahead, in time for the French Open.
Yet, with the situation worsening, WTA officials have taken the decision to suspend the tour, meaning events in Stuttgart, Istanbul and Prague have all been postponed.
The French Open has also been moved to September, and will take place just one week after the U.S Open in New York.
A WTA spokesperson said "Due to the ongoing global coronavirus outbreak, the WTA tournaments in Stuttgart, Istanbul and Prague will not be held as scheduled. We regret this is the case for all of our loyal fans, players, sponsors and all those who support women’s professional tennis.
"At this point in time, the WTA Tour is now suspended until May 2. We will make a decision in the week ahead regarding the remaining WTA European clay court events and will continue to monitor this situation closely and its impact on the 2020 WTA Tour season."
It is unclear at this stage, what this will mean for Grand-Slam qualification, especially if qualifying events cannot go ahead. With only a week in between the hard-court season and the re-scheduled clay court season as well, players may have to decide which of these two surfaces to prioritise.