National tournaments springing up in Britain, Spain and Australia

Professional tennis has been put on hold by coronavirus, but national federations are starting to look at holding their own championships during the lack of international competition.

While some countries are starting to lift limitations on activity, travel restrictions are still prevalent, preventing tournaments from assembling regular-sized fields.

Tennis Australia will hold some Australian tournaments for its players, CEO Craig Tileytold the *Sydney Morning Herald.*

"If Australia recovers before [the] ATP is ready to kick off again I think we have a unique opportunity in our sport to create domestic interest in tennis again," he said.

There are already plans for one event, which could become an established tournament.

"We’ve got one competition which we’re going to be announcing and, who knows, it may become a new normal for us at that time of the year," Tiley said.

Though any event would have to meet government guidelines, tennis is generally considered in a good position because the players can easily stay apart from each other.

"You can switch sides of the court by going [a different] side from the net … and be pretty far from your opponent," Tiley said.

An exhibition in Germany featuring Dustin Brown was played this week with no spectators, and its  safety protocols received government approval.

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In London, Jamie Murray is aiming to organizean event for British singles players during the spot usually occupied by Wimbledon. In addition, Tennis Scotland also wants Andy and Jamie Murray to participate in a closed-door event for Scottish players.

The Spanish tennis federation, which has announced 600,000 Euros to help its 1,300 clubs and its tennis professionals, will also hold some national competitions if allowed by next week's lifting of government restrictions. The country's large number of juniors events and ITF competitions could not be rescheduled, said federation president Miguel Diaz.

The new competitions would include an event for Top-100 players, along with 12 events for players further down in the rankings. According to Diaz, players and clubs are interested.

"They are all happy," Diaz said. "This provides some competition, there will be television, and perhaps some fans even if a smaller number."