The three premier badminton tournaments, scheduled to be held in Bangkok next month, will take place without spectators after a surge in Covid-19 cases in Thailand.
Muang Thong Thani's Impact Arena will host three consecutive events -- the Yonex Thailand Open from Jan 12-17, the Toyota Thailand Open from Jan 19-24 and the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2020 from Jan 27-31.
The first two events, both Super 1000 tournaments, offer a total purse of US$1 million each, while the 2020 season finale has a total prize fund of $1.5 million.
"The organisers are closely monitoring the Covid-19 situation in the country. And to follow the government's health and safety protocols, it is determined that matches will now take place without spectators," said Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, president of the Badminton Association of Thailand.
"However we will continue to assess the situation, and if it improves, fans will be allowed into the stadium and ticket sales will open again."
Patama added that the players, support staff and officials travel to Thailand for the tournaments are expected to stay at designated hotels and shuttle between their accommodation and stadium, where the tournament is held.
At the venue, players and officials will only be allowed in restricted zones and media interviews will be conducted online only.
Those who have already purchased their tickets can contact Thai Ticket Major website (www.thaiticketmajor.com) for refund.
According to the organisers, several top players will take part in the Bangkok tournaments.
The men's competitions will feature world No.1 Kento Momota of Japan, No.2 Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan, and No.3 Anders Antonsen and No.4 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.
The women's stars include No.1 Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan, No.2 Chen Yufei of China, No.3 Akane Yamaguchi and No.4 Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, and No.6 Carolina Marin of Spain.
Thailand's challenge will be spearheaded by Ratchanok Intanon. The world No.5 told the media earlier this week she is aiming to make the most of playing in a Super 1000 event for the first time on home soil.
"I aim to reach the semi-finals to boost my confidence before the Olympics," said the 25-year-old star, the highest-ranked singles player in Thailand.