US Open will start on time behind closed doors
Washington/Xinhua: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that the US Open tennis Grand Slam will take place as scheduled this summer, but it will be played without fans because of the continued spread of the COVID-19.
"The US Open will be held in Queens, NY, without fans from August 31 to September 13. The US tennis association (USTA) will take extraordinary precautions to protect players and staff, including robust testing, additional cleaning, extra locker room space, and dedicated housing and transportation," Cuomo announced through social media on Tuesday.
"We recognize 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, mitigating all potential risks," USTA chief executive officer Mike Dowse said in a statement.
Dowse added: "We now can give fans around the world the chance to watch tennis' top athletes compete for a US Open title, and we can showcase tennis as the ideal social distancing sport."
The USTA earlier proposed creating a bubble for players at an airport hotel outside of Manhattan and restricting entourage numbers to just one, but those plans were met with strong opposition from some top players including world number one Novak Djokovic from Serbia.
The US Open is one of tennis' four Grand Slam tournaments and would be the second to take place this year, with the Australian Open having ended in February. Wimbledon has been canceled this season, and the French Open, which usually takes place in May, was rescheduled to September after the US Open.
Image: Pixabay
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