U.S Tennis Open to commence in August without fans

New York Governor, Mario Cuomo has announced that the U.S Open is all set to take place this August despite the pandemic, but this year’s version will not be allowed to have fans.

In addition to this, Cuomo has promised that the U.S Tennis Association “will take extraordinary measures to protect players and staff.” The organisation also released a statement that it would be “mitigating all possible risks” and would “showcase tennis as the ideal social-distancing sport.”

Even so, top players in the game such as Novak Djokovic have expressed that the rules put in place are “extreme” and shared his hesitance in participating. “We would not have access to Manhattan, we would have to sleep in hotels at the airport, to be tested twice or three times per week. Also, we could bring one person to the club, which is really impossible. I mean, you need your coach, then a fitness trainer, then a physiotherapist,” he said.

Nadal too, said in an online interview at the beginning of the month that traveling to New York in these current times is probably not the best idea. If you ask me today if I want to travel today to New York to play [a] tennis tournament, I will say, ‘No, I will not,’ ” Nadal told reporters. “In a couple of months, I don’t know how the situation [is] going to improve. Hopefully [it is] going to improve the right way,” he said

The U.S Open will take place from August 24 to September 13.