YOUR SERVE
U.S. Open set to stay on court and on course
U.S. Open plans to go on as scheduled, but without fans
The U.S. Open will go on as scheduled, just like it said it would.
The Grand Slam will go on without fans, as long as the government says it can, according to multiple reports. An announcement will come later this week.
“We’re ready to move forward as long as we get all the approvals we need,” USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier told the Associated Press on Monday.
Aside from not having spectators, USTA also plans to limit player entourages, centralize housing, increase cleaning of the tournament grounds at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center and provide testing for the virus.
The Open has not changed its scheduled run date of Aug. 24 to Sept. 13.
The tournament would be the second Grand Slam to be played as scheduled — the Australian Open played out as scheduled in January.
“At the end of the day, there are three factors involved in the decision-making. No. 1 is creating a plan that has health and safety at the forefront. No. 2 is whether conducting the U.S. Open is the right thing for the sport of tennis. And No. 3 is whether it can be done in a financially viable manner. We believe we can hit all three of the objectives,” Widmaier said. “But we do need to approach this in a step-by-step manner, and when all of the steps are completed, that is when we can make an official announcement.”
In March, the French Open was rescheduled for September and Wimbledon was canceled (for the first time since WWII). The USTA maintained the Open would still be played. At the time of the announcement, the U.S. Open grounds in Flushing Meadows Corona Park were being outfitted to hold temporary hospitals.
“The USTA is carefully monitoring the rapidly changing environment surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and is preparing for all contingencies,” it said then. “We also rely on the USTA’s Medical Advisory Group as well as governmental and security officials to ensure that we have the broadest understanding of this fluid situation.”
As the number of COVID-19 cases has dropped in the City, the possibility of bringing major sports back
has looked more positive. Still, health experts have continued to warn if proper social distancing guidelines are not followed, a resurgence of the virus could occur.
“We have submitted our proposal to the state of New York. It’s a very comprehensive plan that details all operational aspects of the tournament — first and foremost, the health and safety of anyone involved in the tournament,” Widmaier said. “We are waiting to hear back from state officials on the viability of that plan.”
Since April, a growing number of high-profile players have also chimed in their concerns over the scheduled running of the Grand Slam. Novak Djokovich already said he’s considered skipping the tournament and waiting until the French Open to compete for another Grand Slam title.
“Most of the players I have talked to were quite negative on whether they would go there,” Djokovich told Serbia’s state broadcaster RTS on Tuesday. “For me currently, as things stand, most probably the season will continue on clay at the beginning of September.”
Other structural changes to the tournament include nixing the singles qualifying rounds. USTA’s Cincinnati tournament scheduled the week before the U.S. Open main draw would instead be moved to New York in its place.