TOKYO: The Japan Open tennis tournament, won last year by world number one Novak Djokovic, has been cancelled due to fears of a second coronavirus wave, organisers said on Thursday.

The scrapping of the tournament, scheduled to take place between October 5 and 11 in Tokyo, raises some doubts over the traditional “Asian swing”, when the ATP tour takes in several tournaments in Asia.

According to a revised schedule published by the ATP to take account of coronavirus, tournaments were also due to take place in the Chinese cities of Chengdu, Zhuhai, Beijing and Shanghai.

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Japan Open organisers said on their website it would be the first time the tournament had been cancelled since 1972.