Palermo: Palermo Ladies Open will go ahead as planned even after a player have tested positive for the deadly coronavirus, said the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) on Saturday.
The WTA did not reveal the identity of the player but said she had pulled out and all those who may have been in close contact with her were being tested.
"A player has tested positive for COVID-19 at the 31st Palermo Ladies Open and has subsequently withdrawn from the tournament. The player is asymptomatic," WTA said in a statement.
"Any individual who tests positive will remain in isolation until cleared by a physician per the established protocols, and will receive proper medical treatment. In addition, all those who may have been in close contact with the individual are undergoing testing per WTA protocols," it added.
Palermo Ladies Open is set to become the first women's tennis competition to start since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in March after several exhibition events.
The tournament will commence from Monday, August 3.
Earlier, the Organisers of Palermo Ladies Open were left 'profoundly disappointed' after Romanian Tennis player Simona Halep withdrew from the event.
The world number two announced her decision on Twitter.
"Given the recent rise in Covid19 cases in Romania and my anxieties around international air travel at this time, I have made the tough decision to withdraw from Palermo. I want to thank the tournament director and the Italian ministry of health for all efforts on my behalf," she tweeted.
The tournament's official website also confirmed that Halep has pulled out of the tournament.
"It has been communicated by the Romanian player's manager, Virginia Ruzici, who explained that the decision is due to the anti-COVID provisions that impose a quarantine to all the people coming from Romania or Bulgaria," the tournament's official website said.
The tournament's director Oliviero Palma said they are 'embittered and profoundly disappointed'.
