HALIFAX \u2014 The Davis Cup World Group I tie between Canada and Israel will be played in a closed venue this weekend in Halifax due to safety concerns, Tennis Canada announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The organization said in a release that the decision was made in consultation with the International Tennis Federation due to \u201cescalating safety concerns\u201d flagged by local authorities and national security agencies.<\/p>\n
It also comes after more than 400 Canadian athletes and academics, including Olympic runner Moh Ahmed, urged Tennis Canada to cancel the tie over Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza and the West Bank.<\/p>\n
Tennis Canada chief executive officer Gavin Ziv called the outcome \u201cvery disappointing\u201d but said the safety of athletes, fans and staff takes top priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the heart of this difficult decision is our responsibility to protect people while ensuring that this Davis Cup tie can still take place,\u201d Ziv said. \u201cWe were forced to conclude that playing behind closed doors was the only way to both safeguard those involved and preserve the event itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tie, which will be played on Friday and Saturday, was initially to be played at Scotiabank Centre. Tennis Canada says fans who purchased tickets will receive a full refund within 30 days.<\/p>\n
Halifax Regional Police did not say whether threats were directed at the Israeli team, but said officers will be present at the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cHalifax Regional Police will have a presence in and around the event, supporting public safety. That said, for security reasons, we can\u2019t provide any further operational details,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said it was disappointed the event had to be closed to fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cCheering for Team Canada is part of what it means to be Canadian. Yet, a small group of extremists have hijacked the Davis Cup, silencing thousands of fans \u2014 many of whom travelled from afar \u2014 who simply wanted to show pride in their country,\u201d the CIJA said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cTennis Canada\u2019s decision was made to protect Canadians in the face of serious threats. It is unacceptable that hate, harassment, and intimidation have made it unsafe to support our athletes in our own country.\u201d <\/p>\n
The tie is being broadcast on TVA Sports and CBC\u2019s streaming services. The winner will advance to the 2026 Davis Cup Qualifiers.<\/p>\n
Tennis Canada\u2019s announcement comes a day after Montreal-based human rights group Palestinian and Jewish Unity asked Mayor Val\u00e9rie Plante to bar the Israel-Premier Tech cycling team from competing in Sunday\u2019s Grand Prix Cycliste de Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n
With files from Emily Baron Cadloff in Halifax.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2025.<\/p>\n
The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HALIFAX \u2014 The Davis Cup World Group I tie between Canada and Israel will be played in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131855,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,82,593],"class_list":{"0":"post-131854","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}