The suspension covers the ATP and WTA tournaments in the spring clay-court swing, which includes the combined ATP and WTA tournaments in Madrid and Rome, along with the WTA events in Strasbourg and Rabat and ATP events in Munich, Estoril, Geneva and Lyon.

Also covered by the suspension are the ATP Challenger Tour and ITF World Tennis Tour, as well as the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors, the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, ITF Beach Tennis World Tour, and ITF Seniors Tour.

Both the ATP and WTA rankings will remain frozen during the two tours period of suspension.

In a joint statement the ATP and WTA said: "The challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to professional tennis demand greater collaboration than ever from everyone in the tennis community in order for the sport to move forward collectively in the best interest of players, tournaments and fans.

"We are assessing all options related to preserving and maximising the tennis calendar based on various return dates for the tours, which remains an unknown at this time. 

"We are committed to working through these matters with our player and tournament members, and the other governing bodies, in the weeks and months ahead.

"Now is not a time to act unilaterally, but in unison. All decisions related to the impact of the coronavirus require appropriate consultation and review with the stakeholders in the game, a view that is shared by ATP, WTA, ITF, AELTC, Tennis Australia, and USTA."

The French Tennis Federation (FFT), who were not mentioned in the joint statement issued today by the ATP and WTA tours, yesterday announced new dates for the French Open, which was due to take place as the climax to the spring clay-court swing.

That tournament is now scheduled to take place from September 20 to October 4, meaning it would start one week after the current scheduled finish of the US Open, traditionally the year's final Grand Slam.

“In these challenging times, it is more important than ever for our sport to pull together to provide as much certainty as possible to all those affected by these postponements," said ITF President David Haggerty.

"We recognise the huge impact this will have, but ultimately the health and safety of players, officials and spectators has to be our primary concern. The ITF is committed to taking a responsible approach, working with all tennis stakeholders to enable players of all levels to resume playing as soon as it is safe to do so.”