Hong Kong, Sep 13 (IANS): The Hong Kong Open tennis tournament, which was scheduled to take place from October 5 to 13, has been postponed indefinitely because of the ongoing protests in the city.

Hong Kong has for months been rocked by increasingly violent protests, triggered by an extradition bill. The bill has now been withdrawn but the protests have continued and have grown to reflect wider demands for democratic reform, reports the BBC.

"In light of the present situation, Hong Kong Tennis Association (HKTA) and the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) are announcing a postponement of the 2019 Hong Kong Tennis Open," said HKTA in a media statement on Friday.

They said they were in "active discussion" to find a later date for the tournament.

The mass protests, now entering their fourth month, were sparked by a now-scrapped extradition bill, which opponents argued would have allowed Beijing to erode Hong Kong's separate justice system after its return from British to Chinese rule in 1997.