Tennis, soccer and U.S. sports hit as coronavirus shreds calendar

A man wearing a protective face mask, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), walks in front of Ariake Tennis Park, a venue for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, in Tokyo, Japan, March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The coronavirus pandemic shredded the global sporting calendar on Thursday, with men's tennis shut down for six weeks, top European soccer leagues placed on hold, NHL suspended and Major League Baseball's opening day postponed.

Speculation over whether the world's premier sporting events could go forward under the spectre of coronavirus culminated in a series of unprecedented postponements and cancellations across the globe, as the sporting world faced an uncertain future.