Federal Cup Final Stage suspended in Budapest

The final phase of the Federation Cup, scheduled for April 14-19 in Budapest, was postponed to a date to be determined due to “health problems caused by the Covid-19”, announced the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

The Hungarian capital was to release a format based on that of the last Davis Cup in Madrid, with 12 teams playing in the same venue. Reigning champion France was placed in Group A with Russia and Hungra, while Spain shared Group C with the United States and Slovakia.

ITF President David Haggerty was “very disappointed” to make this decision, but he also justified it by “not jeopardizing the safety of players, captains, workers and fans.”

Government ban

In the last few hours, the Budapest Government had banned the gatherings of more than one hundred people indoors. A restriction that directly affected the matches scheduled at the Laszlo Papp Budapest Sports Arena.

In addition, the ITF had to suspend the qualifying rounds between lower-ranking teams that were to take place in eight other cities around the world on April 17 and 18.