China have been forced to withdraw from their Davis Cup match against Romania in Bucharest due to the coronavirus outbreak ©Getty Images

Romania have advanced to the Davis Cup World Group I after China were forced to withdraw from their playoff match due to the coronavirus outbreak.

China had been due to travel to Romania to take part in the playoff match next month, with the fixture taking place on March 6 and 7.

The Chinese team were seeded for the tie, which would have taken place on hard courts at the Polyvalent Hall in Piatra Neamt.

The Davis Cup Committee have confirmed China have now withdrawn from the tie.

"The Davis Cup Committee has accepted the withdrawal of China, P.R. from their Davis Cup World Group I Play-off against Romania on 6-7 March," a statement read.

"The increased restrictions in response to the current coronavirus outbreak have resulted in the China, P.R. team being unable to travel to this tie.

"Romania will advance to play in World Group I in September."

Romania will be one of 24 teams to compete at the World Group I event.

Half of the teams will consist of winners of the World Group I playoff ties in March.

The remainder will consist of the beaten teams in next month’s Davis Cup qualifying round, which will determine who competes at the second Davis Cup Finals in Madrid in November.

China are now unable to qualify for the 2021 Davis Cup Finals ©Getty Images
China are now unable to qualify for the 2021 Davis Cup Finals ©Getty Images

Winners of the World Group I playoff ties will compete in the 2021 Davis Cup qualifiers, while the losing nations will contest the World Group I play-offs in 2021.

The coronavirus outbreak had already impacted the ITF’s Fed Cup, with their Asia/Oceania Group I event having to be moved from Dongguan in China to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

The rearranged event is expected to take place at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium from March 3 to 7 March.

The event will take place in the same week at the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Dubai tournament at the same venue.

China, Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, South Korea and Uzbekistan are expected to compete for a place in the Fed Cup Playoffs in April.

There have now been more than 73,000 cases of coronavirus since it originated in Chinese city Wuhan.

More than 1,800 people have died with the vast majority of these in China.

Numerous sporting events have been postponed or cancelled, with cases confirmed in 29 countries and territories.