ATP chief eyes August return but admits it's possible season won't restart

ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said that he remained optimistic the tennis season could resume in August but warned that not being able to play again this year was a possibility due to the coronavirus.

"Nobody knows when we can go back to playing in total safety: talking about August, September, November is all hypothetical, we can't bang our heads against the wall for something that maybe won't even happen because we could even start next year," said Gaudenzi.

Speaking during a telephone interview with the Italian media from his home in London, Gaudenzi said he hoped that the season could return in August.

"We have made 50 versions of the calendar that we change day by day," said the 43-year-old Italian who took over as ATP boss in January.

"I am quite optimistic about autumn and even partially about summer," he told the Ubitennis blog.

"If we manage to start again in August, we'll save three Slams and six Masters 1000, otherwise the problems will increase tenfold."
"We contemplated the option of playing behind closed doors, but then we immediately decided not."
"Tennis needs unity, Paris acted out of fear, making a mistake. But they have recognised this."
"We need to have at least six to eight weeks in advance of the decisions, because it takes time on an operational level."