The Latest: 5 lower-level tennis tournaments in US canceled
The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
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Five lower-level tennis tournaments in the United States in September have been called off because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.S. Tennis Association -- which plans to hold the U.S. Open and another tournament in New York starting Aug. 20 -- announced Thursday the cancellations of all ITF World Tennis Tour and ATP Challenger events in other cities around the country next month.
Those tournaments are ATP Challengers in Cary, North Carolina, and Columbus, Ohio, and ITF stops in Champaign, Illinois; Fayetteville, Arkansas; and Lubbock, Texas.
The USTA says the sort of “controlled environment” that will be used for the Western & Southern Open and U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows “would logistically and financially be difficult to create” at the smaller tournaments that are being scrapped.
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New Mexico State has postponed its football season because of COVID-19 concerns and state restrictions.
The Aggies are the third independent FBS program to decide not to play in the fall, joining Connecticut and Massachusetts. They are the 53rd major college football program overall to opt out.
New Mexico State noted it had four games left on its schedule, plus the state of New Mexico has a 14-day quarantine for those traveling into and out of the state.
New Mexico State says it will explore playing football in the spring.
“Rival New Mexico has postponed its season as part of the Mountain West’s decision to attempt to play in the spring.
New Mexico State competes in the Western Athletic Conference for other sports, and that conference also announced it would not have fall sports this year.
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Fans will be allowed into MotoGP races for the first time this season, at the Misano circuit in Italy next month.
The region of Emilia Romagna has given the circuit permission to open to a maximum of 10,000 fans a day for the doubleheader of the San Marino and Emilia Romagna MotoGP rounds.
There will be strict measures in place to protect against the coronavirus, and fans will not be allowed to roam around.
The circuit has a capacity of around 110,000 including more than 40,000 in the stands and welcomed approximately 160,000 people across the three-day weekend last year.
Organizers say in a statement: “It is a decision that makes us emotional because it also represents a green light for the restart of world sport finally in front of the fans.”
The first three MotoGP rounds were held without fans and no spectators will be allowed into the upcoming doubleheader in Austria.
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French golfer Alex Levy has been withdrawn from the Celtic Classic, which started on Thursday.
Levy came into contact with a friend who has tested positive for the coronavirus, the European Tour said in a statement.
The contact happened while Levy was at home in France last weekend. When he arrived at Celtic Manor Resort in Wales on Tuesday, he tested negative. He is showing no symptoms, the tour said, but he has been withdrawn from the tournament as a precaution and must self-isolate for 14 days.
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