WTA tournament in Limoges called off due to strict COVID-19 measures put in place for Australian Open

Paris: The WTA tournament in Limoges has been cancelled due to coronavirus measures put in place for the Australian Open which risk leaving the French tournament with a weak field, organisers said on Friday.

The tournament, which was scheduled to take place between 14-20 December, has been "directly affected" by the mandatory two-week coronavirus quarantine players have to respect before being allowed into Australia.

Players who want to take part in the Australian Open, which is set to start on 18 January next year, may have to arrive Down Under as early as mid-December if they want to take part in the first Grand Slam of the tennis season.

Limoges organisers said the quarantine rules left their tournament likely to miss out on "the top 150 players in the world" and as such means they can't "guarantee a high-level event".

The cancellation means that there are just two more WTA events between now and the end of the season, Ostrava which begins on Monday and the Linz tournament scheduled for 9-15 November.