U.S. Open tennis tournament, starting in late August, gets go-ahead from New York Gov. Cuomo
The USTA is taking all precautionary steps for the Open, including COVID-19 testing and no fans in attendance.
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The U.S. Open tennis tournament will go on as scheduled.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved of the United States Tennis Association’s plans to host the 2020 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow. The Open will be held on its regularly scheduled dates from Aug. 31-Sept. 13, but without spectators.
The U.S. Open will mark the return of Grand Slam tennis. Usually, it’s the last of the four Grand Slams. The Australian Open was held in January before the pandemic, Wimbledon was canceled outright and the French Open was rescheduled to Sept. 20-Oct. 4.
“We recognize the tremendous responsibility of hosting one of the first global sporting events in these challenging times, and we will do so in the safest manner possible, mitigating all potential risks,” Mike Dowse, USTA Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, said in a statement released on social media Tuesday.
One concern is the small amount of time between the U.S. and French Open, and the health risk it presents. Men’s No. 1 Novak Djokovic said that he would consider skipping the U.S. Open if it wasn’t rescheduled.
“Most of the players I have talked to were quite negative on whether they would go there. For me currently, as things stand, most probably the season will continue on clay at the beginning of September,” Djokovic said to Serbia’s state broadcaster RTS.
The USTA is planning to put protocols in place to ensure the players’ safety. Players will be subject to COVID-19 testing and some will be placed in the same hotels, according to a story published in the New York Times on Monday. Players will also have limited support staffs in Manhattan.
“We now can give fans around the world the chance to watch tennis’ top athletes compete for a U.S. Open title, and we can showcase tennis as the ideal social distancing sport," Dowse said in the USTA statement. "Being able to hold these events in 2020 is a boost for the City of New York and the entire tennis landscape.”