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It’s not a surprise, given there’s been a fair few complications ahead of this weekend’s Davis Cup World Group I tie between Canada and Israel in Halifax.

But Tennis Canada finally announced Tuesday that the tie, given the current world situation, would be held behind closed doors, without fans in attendance.

Tennis Canada’s statement read as follows:

“Tennis Canada acted in light of escalating safety concerns. Intelligence received from local authorities and national security agencies, combined with disruptions witnessed at other recent events both in Canada and internationally, indicated a risk of significant disruption to this event.”

The statement from Tennis Canada CEO Gavin Ziv:

“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. While this outcome is very disappointing, it allows the tie to proceed in Halifax and ensures that our athletes can continue to compete at the highest international level.”

(Here’s the full statement)

Always a complicated affair

From what we’ve been hearing, the tie ended up in Halifax in the first place because venues in Montreal and Toronto were hesitant to hold it.

At the US Open, a few media were sniffing around the Canadian tennis players, trying to figure out if Israel-born Denis Shapovalov was skipping the tie for … political reasons.

(He is not – Shapovalov has a long-standing family obligation that weekend, and it wasn’t ever in the plans).

There was a protest outside city hall in Halifax Aug. 19, calling for the tie to be cancelled. The governing bodies spouted the official platitudes at that time.

A protest letter spearheaded by Olympian Moe Ahmed had 413 signatories.

Here’s what Shapovalov, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriel Diallo said about it, when asked before the US Open.

OpenCourt · Canadians on Davis Cup

The players were somewhat surprised by the questions, and subsequently discussed that surprise amongst themselves. They were either in Cincinnati, headed to New York, or already in New York when the news broke at home about this.

Félix Auger-Aliassime, fresh from his semifinal showing in New York and with his wedding just a week later, was a non-surprising scratch over the weekend.

Why it took until three days before the tie to make this decision is the interesting question. Nothing has changed in the interim, and ticket sales continued.

Ticketholders are to receive a full refund within 30 days, per Tennis Canada.

On the plus side, despite the heavy pandemic vibes, the players will be able to go about their business as usual – beyond playing to empty stands.

The tie will be broadcast on TVA Sports, and streamed online on the CBC website, with no English-language broadcasters holding the rights.

No mention anywhere about whether the media will be able to cover it on site.