Sofia to replace Tel Aviv as ATP tournament host

Sofia will host an ATP event in early November, replacing the Tel Aviv Open, the Bulgarian tennis federation announced Tuesday.

The Tel Aviv event was cancelled after a war in the region triggered by a bloody attack by Hamas.

"Sofia Open 2023 will be held from November 4 to 11... The Bulgarian Tennis Federation won the right to organise the competition, which was supposed to take place in Tel Aviv, but was cancelled due to the hostilities in Israel," the BFT said in a statement.

The BFT announced last week that it was awarded the event but later said it was "forced to cancel the hosting due to circumstances beyond its control".

"Unfortunately, the dates of the possible run-off in the local elections did not allow Arena Sofia to become home to thousands of tennis fans again," it added back then.

Bulgaria holds municipal elections on October 29 with a run-off expected on November 5 and ballot counting usually takes place in the Arena Sofia, which is also the country's ATP venue.

The BFT said Tuesday that the issue was resolved by moving some of the matches to another venue, the Sofia hall.