US Open tennis looks set for postponement

THE US Open is ‘highly unlikely’ to be played behind closed doors despite the coronavirus, it’s being reported.

The Flushing Meadows event is still scheduled for 31 August with the tennis season in chaos.

And with Wimbledon and the French Open already being impacted by the pandemic attention is now turning to the hard court season.

But they will not make a decision on the event until June and hope to be able to play it with fans if at all.

On the possibility of playing behind closed doors USTA chief executive Mike Dowse said: “We’re not taking anything off the table right now, but to be perfectly honest and open, I think that’s highly unlikely.

“That’s not really in the spirit of the celebration of tennis, and it also goes back to the health and wellbeing of our players and support staff that help run the tournament.

“Unless the medical experts come up with a solution that truly is foolproof and safe, we don’t see that as an option.”

Wimbledon was cancelled for the year due to the pandemic while the French Open has been moved to September 20 to 4 October.

America is now the hardest-hit country by the virus by President Trump wants to get some businesses up and running by the end of the month.

America has recorded more deaths and cases – 34,784 and 676,676 – than any other country.

But Dowse is still hoping there will be progress over the next few months.

“In one sense we’re very fortunate that we are the fourth Grand Slam to go, so time is on our side at this point,” Dowse continued.

“The driving factor will be the health and wellbeing of the players, the fans and our staff.

“And to that, we just don’t have enough information if we can run the tournament safely.