The Bermuda Squash Racquets Association have confirmed that the Bermuda Open has been cancelled amid the worldwide spread of Covid-19.

The annual tournament, an official stop on the PSA Pro World Tour, was scheduled to run from March 17 to 21, and would have involved 28 international players from 18 different countries.

However, due to the increasing threat of Covid-19, which has more than 129,500 confirmed cases and 4,500 deaths worldwide, Patrick Foster, the BSRA director of squash, said an early decision to cancel was necessary to help protect not only the players, but also the families who were set to host competitors.

“After talks with the Professional Squash Association, we decided to take the decision to postpone the tournament on Tuesday,” he said.

“We would have had players coming in from different countries all around the world and they would have been housed with local families in the community.

“We couldn’t risk those families and the potential risks of hosting the players so we decided to make the early call. No players will be arriving on island and no tournament will be taking place.

“We sought advice both locally and with the PSA but ultimately it came down to our decision to cancel because of the unknown risks.

“It is a big annual event for everybody involved and so it was a tough decision to make but seeing everything that is happening in the world and how quickly things are changing, I’m glad we took that decision early.

“I’m in no doubt decisions will have to be made on other events taking place on island and people are going to have to make those decisions. I’m just pleased we made ours early.”