Player unease as US Open to go ahead without fans

The US Open tennis championships will go ahead as scheduled in August but without spectators, officials confirmed.

After weeks of uncertainty surrounding the tournament — which is being staged in the epicentre of the US coronavirus crisis — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo formally gave the event the green light.

“The @usopen will be held in Queens, NY, without fans from August 31 to September 13,” Cuomo announced on Twitter.

The New York leader said the US Tennis Association would take “extraordinary precautions” to protect players and staff during the event.

“It will be held without fans, but we can watch it on TV, and I’ll take that,” Cuomo later said during a briefing.

Safety protocols in force at the tournament include testing, additional cleaning, extra locker room space, and dedicated housing and transportation.

The decision had been anticipated after reports on Monday

said the USTA’s plans for the tournament had received support from the ATP and WTA Tours.

The ATP/WTA Cincinnati hardcourt event — the Western & Southern Open — will also be staged at the USTA’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center as a lead-in tournament.

The USTA opted to move the tournament to New York to minimise travel for players taking part in both tournaments.

USTA’s Mike Dowse said the US Open would be held in the “safest manner possible, mitigating all potential risks”.

Several leading players have expressed reservations about the prospect of playing a tournament in New York, and it remains to be seen how many of the game’s elite will commit to playing the event.

World No 1 Novak Djokovic has been one of the most vocal critics, saying that safety measures and restrictions on the numbers of support staff allowed for each player were problematic. —