REUTERS: Organizers of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells cancelled the tennis tournament on Sunday due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in Southern California.

"There is too great a risk, at this time, to the public health of the Riverside County area in holding a large gathering of this size," said David Agus, a professor of medicine and biomedical engineering at the University of Southern California.



"It is not in the public interest of fans, players and neighbouring areas for this tournament to proceed. We all have to join together to protect the community from the coronavirus outbreak."

The tournament, a Masters 1000 event that was supposed to start on Tuesday, attracts the game's top players and a large crowd every year.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)