US Open to proceed despite players' gripes
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The proposed plan to house players in a "bubble" in New York has drawn criticism from Simona Halep and many other top players.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK • The men's ATP Tour and women's WTA Tour have both issued their revised calendars for the resumption of professional tennis following the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The men's Tour will resume on Aug 14 with the Citi Open, ATP 500 event in Washington, while the first WTA event will be staged in Palermo, Italy from Aug 3.
The French Open also announced yesterday its new date of Sept 27-Oct 11.
Meanwhile, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that the US Open would be held as originally scheduled, but without fans at Flushing Meadows, approving a plan by the US Tennis Association (USTA) to salvage the hard-court Grand Slam.
The Slam is set for Aug 31 to Sept 13 and will be preceded by the Citi Open and the Aug 15-23 Cincinnati Masters.
The US Open's new guidelines are, however, likely to curtail players' movements and limit the size of their entourages to just one. Players and their staff will be required to wear masks when not competing or training, and access to the locker room and other shared spaces will be regulated.
But there are unresolved questions about whether players and their teams will be required to quarantine when they arrive in and depart from the US.
"We recognise the tremendous responsibility of hosting one of the first global sporting events in these challenging times, and we will do so in the safest manner possible," Mike Dowse, the chief executive of the USTA, said.
It is unlikely that all of tennis's top players will choose to play, with women's No. 2 Simona Halep saying yesterday that she does not currently plan to do so.
The qualifying tournaments have been eliminated, and doubles draws are to be reduced from 64 teams to 32. "For me, a Slam isn't a Slam without qualifying, doubles and mixed doubles," tweeted Canadian player Gabriela Dabrowski.
The absence of spectators will certainly be a financial hit for the USTA, which gets most of its funding from the tournament.
More than 700,000 fans attended last year's Major, and the loss of revenue will include ticket sales, hospitality and concessions.
NYTIMES, REUTERS