Defending champ Nadal to miss U.S. Open

Defending champion Rafael Nadal will skip the U.S. Open because of the coronavirus pandemic, putting on hold his bid to equal Roger Federer’s men’s record for Grand Slam titles.

Nadal explained his decision in a series of tweets sent in Spanish and English on Tuesday.

“The situation is very complicated worldwide, the COVID-19 cases are increasing, it looks like we still don’t have control of it,” Nadal wrote.

The 34-year-old from Spain called sitting out the tournament scheduled to begin Aug. 31 in New York “a decision I never wanted to take,” but added that he would “rather not travel.”

The current No. 1-ranked woman, Ash Barty, already had announced she would be missing the U.S. Open. The U.S. Tennis Association’s entry list announcements Tuesday noted that 2019 women’s champion Bianca Andreescu is in the field — at least for now; players can withdraw until the start of play

— but made no mention of Nadal.

Auto racing

INDY 500 TO GO ON WITHOUT FANS » Roger Penske has reversed course and decided not to allow fans at the Indianapolis 500 later this month. The 104th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” will be the first without spectators, who showed up at Indianapolis Motor Speedway every year, even during the Great Depression. It was a flip for Penske, who purchased the iconic speedway in January and has spent every day since upgrading his new showplace to prepare for his favorite race. The pandemic forced the race to change dates for the first time, from Memorial Day weekend to Aug. 23. Penske had initially said he wouldn’t run the 500 without fans. But as the pandemic continued to spread across the nation, the decision was made to limit capacity to 50%. The speedway then lowered that number to 25% and presented an 88-page manual on how to safely host spectators.