ATP Challenger in Charleston canceled due to “expected impact” of Hurricane Ian

WATCH: Anna Kalinskaya posted an Instagram story showing some particularly brutal Miami weather as Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Florida.

As Hurricane Ian continues to bear down on the southeast United States, players at the ATP Challenger in Charleston were left to scramble for flights out of the area after the tournament was canceled on Wednesday.

The LTP Men’s Open featured Australian No. 85 Jordan Thompson as the top seed in a draw packed with Americans including No. 5 Michael Mmoh, No. 8 Emilio Nava and qualifier Donald Young. But with the hurricane expected to make a third landfall in South Carolina—and the cone of probability putting flood-prone Charleston in the crosshairs—on Friday, organizers opted to pull the plug on the event.

“Due to the expected impact of Hurricane Ian on South Carolina, the remainder of the #ATPChallenger event in Charleston has been canceled,” the tour wrote in a statement posted to Twitter.

“All players will receive ranking points and prize money for rounds reached.”

Already dubbed one of the costliest and deadliest storms in Florida’s history, Ian first made landfall in Cuba as a hurricane before strengthening to hit Florida as a devastating Category 4 storm earlier this week. The storm churned its way across the state before exiting into the Atlantic Ocean, where it has been expected to strengthen back into a hurricane as it changes trajectory toward Charleston.

With the city shutting down in preparation for possible rain and extensive flooding, so too the scrapped LP Men’s Open team quickly began to secure the venue.

“With the looming weather threat of Hurricane Ian, we’re not going to have a champion here in Charleston as precautions have been made,” said Bryan Fenley of FOX Sports Radio.

“They’ve already started to take down the signage and a lot of the equipment here, as they prepare for an onslaught of rain for a few days.”

Originally scheduled for 25 September to 2 October in Mount Pleasant, the ATP Challenger 80 event managed to get in four days of play before shutting down. Top seed Thompson advanced to the quarterfinals, one of four players who reached that stage.

“Unfortunately because Hurricane Ian has been gaining a lot of strength and because it will be arriving in Charleston shortly, the tournament has been canceled,” wrote Nicolas Mejia in an update to fans on Twitter. The Colombian, ranked No. 304, had moved into the second round and was expected to take on Paul Jubb for a place in the quarterfinals.

“Right now the most important thing is the safety of everyone. Stay safe, and especially those who live in or are currently in Florida. The images are terrible. You are in my prayers."

World No. 207 Mitchell Krueger, who lost in the first round to Jubb, seemed to already be booking his flights out of Charleston when news of the cancellation was announced.

“If playing professional tennis has taught me anything it’s that I’d be one incredible travel agent,” he shared on Twitter.