US Open faces D-day amid player uncertainty
Under safety protocols proposed for the tournament, players would be confined to a hotel outside of Manhattan and would only be allowed to bring one member of their entourage to the event. Singles qualifying would be eliminated while the doubles tournaments would be drastically reduced from 64 pairings to just 24. The ATP/WTA Cincinnati Masters event could also be shifted to New York as a lead-in tournament.
“This is the world we are living in,” USTA’S director of player relations Eric Butorac told ATP and WTA players during a conference call on Wednesday. “We believe this is a good plan and believe it is good for the sport. It’s good for the tennis economy, creates jobs for you, for coaches, for commentators, for so many people. And most importantly, this plan keeps you safe.”
So far, however, those words of reassurance have failed to quell unease amongst some of the international tennis circuit’s biggest names. World number one Novak Djokovic said the proposed safety measures and restrictions on the numbers of support staff were problematical.
“We would not have access to Manhattan, we would have to sleep in hotels at the airport, to be tested twice or three times per week,” Djokovic said. “Also, we could bring one person to the club, which is really impossible. I mean, you need your coach, then a fitness trainer, then a physiotherapist.”
Djokovic said most players he had spoken to had “a rather negative view” about playing in New York, and predicted some would instead switch to the delayed clay court season. Djokovic’s misgivings were shared by defending men’s singles champion Rafael Nadal, who would be chasing a 20th Grand Slam title at Flushing. Nadal said tennis should not resume until it is “completely safe” for all competitors.
Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, meanwhile, accused the ATP Tour of riding roughshod over player concerns. “The ATP is trying to make the US Open go ahead. Selfish with everything going on at the moment,” Kyrgios wrote on Twitter.
Yet Djokovic’s reservations have not won over some of tennis’s rank and file. American women’s singles player Danielle Collins lambasted Djokovic’s public statements about the proposed limits on support staff.
“This is a massive opportunity for players to start making money again, and here we have the top player in the world saying only being able to bring one person with (him) will be too difficult,” Collins said. “It’s easy when someone has made $150 million throughout their career to try and tell people what to do with their money, and then turn down playing in the US Open,” Collins added.