Decision about US Open will be made in June
After Wimbledon's cancellation, a big question mark hovers over the US Open . The organizers have now announced that they want to make a decision in June at the latest .
by SID / red
last edit: Apr 17, 2020, 09:15 am
It is currently unclear whether and when tennis can be played again in 2020. The interruption of the tour was extended ever further, most recently the classic lawn from Wimbledon also fell victim to the corona virus. The next big tournament that is scheduled to take place is the US Open in New York City, a city that is currently particularly hard hit by the corona virus.
Ghost tournament "a very unrealistic scenario"
The decision to hold the US Open in New York will be made in June at the latest. That announced Mike Dowse, head of the United States Tennis Association, on Thursday. So far, no variant has been off the table, said Dowse, but the goal is still to hold the Grand Slam tournament with spectators: "A ghost tournament is a very unrealistic scenario."
New York is the metropolis most affected by the corona pandemic in the United States. In the New York area alone, more than 31,000 people have already fallen victim to the virus. A makeshift hospital has been built on the tennis facility in Flushing Meadows to treat the many corona patients. Dowse emphasized that there is a permanent close exchange with medical professionals: "The decisive factor in our decision will be the health of the players, the fans and our employees."
The problem with the French Open
The US Open, which is scheduled to take place from August 31 to September 13, is the next Grand Slam tournament on Agenda 2020 after the Wimbledon cancellation. The start of the French Open in Paris is by the organizers in Roland Garros single-handedly postponed from May to September 20th. A decision that caused a lot of criticism would only give the athletes around a week to switch from hard court to sand.
In the previous year, Rafael Nadal had triumphed at both the US Open and the French Open. To defend both titles, he would now have to play four Grand Slam weeks in a total of five weeks - a burden that is hardly manageable for players, as Jan de Witt stated in the tennisnet interview. Now the US Open seem to be in danger at this date anyway.