ATP announces cancellation of China swing for the 2022 tennis season, cites COVID-19 pandemic as reason

The ATP has confirmed the cancelation of this year's China events, including the Shanghai Masters, on account of the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions in place in the country.

The China Swing involves the China Open, the Chengdu Open and the Zhuhai Championships apart from the Shanghai Masters.

China last hosted the ATP events in 2019, following which the tournaments have been canceled for three years in a row due to the pandemic.

"ATP confirms cancellation of China events in 2022, including Shanghai Masters, due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions"

The Shanghai Masters, which is typically held in early October, is the eighth and penultimate ATP 1000 event that is part of the ATP tour.

Interestingly, the Shanghai Masters is also the only ATP 1000 event that is held outside of Europe and North America.

The tournament, which is hosted at the Qizhong Forest Sports Arena, has witnessed some legendary names like Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer emerge triumphant over the years.

Djokovic has been the most successful player in the history of the Shanghai Masters, winning 4 titles and having won a total of 34 matches as the venue.

Andy Murray, who became the youngest champion in Shanghai by winning the 2010 edition, also registered a second successive title win in 2011 followed by a third trophy in 2016.

Roger Federer is the oldest player to have won the Shanghai Masters title. The Swiss maestro defeated Rafael Nadal to reign supreme in 2017 when he was 36-years-old.

Daniil Medvedev is the defending champion after having won the event in 2019 after defeating Alexander Zverev in the final.

ATP announces six new single-year tourments in 2022

San Diego will host a new single-year ATP 250 event in September

The concept of a single-year tournament was brought into focus at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 following the cancelation of several tournaments.

Six new ATP 250 events have now been announced as per the latest update from the tennis body, the first of which is scheduled to be held in San Diego between September 19-25.

Week 39 of the ATP tour that begins on September 26 will witness two new tournaments in Asia, taking place in Seoul and Tel Aviv.

The Italian town of Florence and the coastal city of Gijon in Spain will host two separate ATP 250 events that will begin on October 10.

The spotlight will then shift to Naples, which will host the last of the single license events from October 17, as per the ATP.