He US Open will maintain its plan to contest the 2020 edition on the scheduled dates, from August 31 to September 13 in New York City, its usual venue.
The MASTER, the American tennis federation and rector of this Grand Slam, is waiting for official confirmation from the competent health authority to issue a public statement indicating that it is being disputed. This is reported by local media ESPN and Forbes.
Chris Widmaier, spokesman for the American Tennis Federation, confirmed the USTA’s intentions for the USA Open to be played. “We raised the decision on three factors: if we were able to offer a guarantee health plan, if the dispute in the tournament was good for tennis, and if we were able to face it financially. We came to the conclusion that the conditions for all three factors are in place, and we move on ”. And he explained that they are waiting for the sanitary OK from the authorities: “We have presented our proposal to the state of New York. It is a very comprehensive plan that details all operational aspects of the tournament: first of all, the health and safety of anyone involved in the tournament, “said Widmaier. “We are awaiting news from state officials about the viability of that plan. The US Open is one of many professional sports entities within New York State and we recognize that the state needs to review all sports comprehensively. “
The men’s ATP and the women’s WTA would have given their OK, although many players have been against the dispute of a tournament behind closed doors if the anticipated restrictions did not change: concentration in a hotel, without the possibility of going to Manhattan, only one companion per tennis player, limited use of the facility on days without their own game, elimination of the previous phase and reduction of doubles draw.
The USTA had already advanced that it was prepared to keep its event standing to ensure the economic survival of the entity and the jewel in the crown. Not surprisingly, he has just laid off 110 employees, closing offices around the country.
Feliciano Lopez, a tennis player but also director of the Mutua Madrid Open, had already warned that the ATP and the tournaments could suffer a major disaster if the action did not recover, in August and after a break that began in March.
Although the man from Toledo also said he was aware that there may be absences, some of them weighty, at the US Open, if the health situation does not change, since New York is the center of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. joined by the popular explosion against racism after the death of George Floyd.
It remains for ATP and WTA to square a calendar in August, and then give priority to clay, with a triplet Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros.
Tennis institutions were studying placing a tournament prior to the US Open even in the same facility, part of which helped during the peak of the coronavirus.
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