Indian Wells 2020 Canceled Due to Coronavirus Amid Public Health Emergency

The 2020 BNP Paribas will not take place as previously scheduled because of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The tournament, which was to be held in March at Indian Wells, California, announced it "will not take place at this time due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus and the safety of the participants and attendees at the event" after the Riverside County Public Health Department declared a public health emergency.

"There is too great a risk, at this time, to the public health of the Riverside County area in holding a large gathering of this size," Dr. David Agus, professor of medicine and biomedical engineering at the University of Southern California, said. "It is not in the public interest of fans, players and neighboring areas for this tournament to proceed. We all have to join together to protect the community from the coronavirus outbreak."

The announcement also explained that anyone who bought tickets for the annual event can receive a full refund or a credit for tickets to the 2021 tournament.

Concerns about the coronavirus have led to the cancelation of a number of events, including the South by Southwest music festival and the International Ice Hockey Women's World Championship.

There has also been discussion that the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo could be canceled depending on the proliferation of the virus.

The BNP Paribas Open is one of the most notable non-major tennis tournaments of the year and routinely attracts some of the best players in the sport. Dominic Thiem defeated Roger Federer in the 2019 men's final, while Bianca Andreescu defeated Angelique Kerber in the 2019 women's final.

According to CNN, there are more than 500 cases of the coronavirus in the United States and more than 105,000 cases globally. It has led to the deaths of more than 3,500 people.