Tennis Canada has said the Davis Cup tie on September 12 and 13 between Canada and Israel in Halifax, Nova Scotia will be played behind closed doors due to “escalating safety concerns.” More than 1,500 tickets that had been sold for the tie will be refunded.
Gavin Ziv, Tennis Canada’s chief executive, said: “At the heart of this difficult decision is our responsibility to protect people while ensuring that this Davis Cup tie can still take place.
“We were forced to conclude that playing behind closed doors was the only way to both safeguard those involved and preserve the event itself.”
Tennis Canada said that it made the decision in conjunction with the International Tennis Federation (ITF), along with “intelligence received from local authorities and national security agencies, combined with disruptions witnessed at other recent events both in Canada and internationally.”
In August, a group of prominent Canadian athletes, activists and academics — including three former United Nations Special Rapporteurs for human rights — released an open letter calling for the tie to be canceled. The letter, which refers to determinations from human rights organizations and UN Special Rapporteurs that Israel is “either committing genocide or committing acts consistent with genocide” in Gaza, states that “this is an important moment for Sport Canada and Tennis Canada to promote social justice and stand on the right side of history.” It now has close to 800 signatures.
The ITF has not suspended Israel from membership or from team competition. In March 2022, the organization suspended Russia and Belarus from team competition following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two nations have been barred from the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup, its women’s equivalent, ever since. Russian and Belarusian tennis players can compete in individual events but are not allowed to do so under their flags.
A spokesperson for the ITF said: “Israel has not been excluded from any international sporting events and has not been suspended by the International Olympic Committee.
“Across tennis, careful consideration is given to the participation of teams and players representing every nation, and the safety of all players, tournament staff and supporters is always paramount at every event.
“The atmosphere of a Davis Cup tie is unique in tennis, so of course we share Tennis Canada’s disappointment with this outcome. That said, the safety of all players, supporters and tournament staff is always paramount and Tennis Canada considered a range of detailed security advice before coming to this decision. We will continue to work with them to ensure the tie meets the elite international sporting standard of Davis Cup.”
Pro-Palestinian protests at sporting events have intensified in recent months. The 11th stage of the Vuelta a España was this week neutralized after protests against Israel-Premier Tech’s involvement in the race. In tennis, pro-Palestinian groups protested against Barclays’ sponsorship of Wimbledon at this and last year’s tournament, based on the British multinational bank’s financial relationship with nine defense companies that supply arms to Israel.
(Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images for ITF)