The U.S. Open, French Open, and several other tournaments have been given the green light to be played in 2020. Tennis is back!
But not everyone is happy about it.
Right now the USTA is taking the most heat for planning to hold the U.S. Open as scheduled in late August and early September at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Among the players’ concerns are traveling to New York, safety measures at the venue and hotels, the lack of qualifying, a diminished doubles field, and the unique aspect of a playing atmosphere with no fans in attendance.
[Shaking my head],” Nick Kyrgios posted on Twitter. “People that live in the US of course are pushing (for) the Open to go ahead. ‘Selfish.’ I’ll get my hazmat suit ready for when I travel from Australia and then have to quarantine for 2 weeks on my return.”
The good news for players who want to minimize travel is that they have to visit just one location in order to compete in both the U.S. Open and Western & Southern Open. Normally held in Cincinnati, the Western & Southern Open is moving to Flushing Meadows this year so that players and tournament officials can remain in a single bubble for both the Masters 1000 tournament and the second Grand Slam of 2020 (Wimbledon is cancelled and the French Open is postponed until late September).
Kyrgios’ countryman John Millman even found fault in that, however, because the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. will take place prior to the Cincinnati-U.S. Open double. It is scheduled for an Aug. 16 start in its normal location–not a part of the bubble.
Millman asked on Twitter: “Why are we going into a bubble for Cinci/US when we have a lead in tournament in Washington DC? We may as well have played Cinci in Cinci if we are no longer doing the bubble isolation tennis thing.”
Despite so much fussing, tennis–to the surprise of many–is continuing 2020 after being suspended in early March. And for the most part that is considered good news. Count Serena Williams, Bianca Andreescu, and Novak Djokovic among the competitors eager to take their talents to New York.
“I really cannot wait to return in New York and play the U.S. Open,” Williams assured. “I feel like the USTA is going to do a really good job of ensuring everything is amazing and everything is perfect and everyone is safe. It’s going to be exciting. It’s been over six months since a lot of us have played professional tennis. I’ll certainly miss the fans, don’t get me wrong–just being out there and that New York crowd and hearing everyone cheer. I’ll really miss that getting me through some of those tough matches. This is crazy. I’m excited.”
“Returning to life as we once knew it is no longer an option,” Andreescu stated, “but I plan to make the most of the opportunity to get back on the court, re-connect with players and friends, and hopefully bring tennis back to the millions of fans across the globe safely.”
Djokovic had been skeptical about playing in the U.S. Open, but that was back when the tournament was unlikely to happen. Now that that it’s on, the world No. 1 has changed his tune.
“[People] are very glad that it is happening, of course, and it is very important that we provide opportunities, we provide jobs, we provide opportunities for players to compete,” Djokovic noted. “Because at the end of the day, this is what we do. As tennis professionals we love the sport; we are passionate about it. We miss competing and traveling and, at the end of the day, we miss being on tour.”
Nadal will be next to confirm
Will remind you of this prediction if he doesn’t go Ricky!
I hope he does play.
Do you predict he plays the warm up masters beforehand? We know Rafa likes competitive practice but he is looking at a very draining schedule with the clay season starting straightaway afterwards in Madrid.
The Tennis Channel guys are predicting that Rafa won’t play the USO and Djoker won’t play RG, (assuming he doesn’t fall on his face early on). Would certainly work for me. I really hate the idea of Rafa playing so much in such a short time after a long layoff.
Well I incline to agree with them although I hate Rafa missing a slam. But the schedule is brutal.
Glad that Joker is on board for the USO…..and I think that Rafa WILL play!
Don’t think Rafa is going to the US, what if the COVID-19 issue has not improved, or even gets worse? Players returning from US to Europe may then need to be quarantined for 14 days and then there goes the clay events! Rafa is not going to take that kind of risk!
As I predicted earlier on, Djoko will go to the US, good chance for him to win the USO, and he can then take it easy at the clay events, or skips them if he needs to be quarantined! Bigger chance for him to win the USO compared to the FO, I think he has done the maths and so decides to go for the USO.
The conditions in Europe will be quite different than in May/June obviously so it will be more even.Nadal still a big favourite as is Djoko at US.
Its a pity they can’t play even one grass tournament such as the Hall of Fame.
Nadal will play both the US open and the french open. There’s no indication that he will not play the US open at all. Since everybody else including djokovic ( as I predicted) will play the US open, rafa certainly will. I hope to see him there defending his title. He can possibly win it too, he’s not a four time Us open champion for nothing second only to federer. Since djokovic will play both the Us open and the french open, nadal certainly can and will if he manages his schedule and fitness wisely. As for french open, we all know nadal can skip all clay events and arrive at the french and still deliver if he stays fit and healthy.
Vamos rafa, see you at the US open and please improve your serve and be more aggressive, no 5 setters please. And stay healthy and safe.
Rafa recently said he hasn’t even been practising as he had no practice court at home. Meanwhile Nole, Dom and co have been playing exhos and going to nightclubs.
How is he suddenly out of nowhere going to be fit enough to play the USO? He is 34 now so can’t suddenly.reprise 2013. Getting fit for the clay season is a different matter.
Having said that there are inherent risks in skipping America to play on clay as no one knows what is going to happen in September. Maybe we get a dreaded second wave and Macron puts France, or possibly just Paris, into lockdown? Either Madrid or Rome could be shut down. All.decisions are fraught with risk right now but it’s surely easier for players who.have been practising and/or are young to come back to the tour.
amy JUNE 20, 2020 AT 8:01 AM;
Rafa started to practice at his academy nearly a month ago – on May 22nd:
https://twitter.com/rnadalacademy/status/1263825167870017537
Thanks Augusta! But he has only been practising for short periods hasn’t he? It will take him quite a while to get match fit…
amy JUNE 21, 2020 AT 6:11 AM;
Rafa held a virtual press conference with international media on Thursday, June 4. This article is based on the press conference:
https://www.thenational.ae/sport/tennis/rafael-nadal-wants-tour-to-resume-only-after-all-travel-restrictions-are-lifted-1.1029004
Excerpts from the article:
¤¤ He [Rafa] feels confident he would be ready to compete at a high level whenever the tour resumes, despite the lack of match play, but wants to protect his body in the meantime.
“I need to take things step by step. I am trying to avoid injuries, that’s the main thing today. To avoid injuries I need to practice step by step and increase the amount of work every week,” said the 34-year-old.
“I think the last couple of years I learned how to play good tennis without the need to play a lot of matches. I really think that I understand and found a way to be ready to compete at a very high level without playing a lot of matches before. I played a small amount of tournaments the last couple of years compared to the years before, I think it’s all about making the right preparation.
…
“I think the long breaks for the older bodies are tougher than for the younger bodies because it’s more difficult to come back to 100 per cent but at the same time of course we have the experience too,” said Nadal. “So I have the experience of injuries I had the past, so in some way we know how to come back.
“I am passionate about coming back on the tour and keep playing for a couple of years and keep enjoying the things I like the most – enjoying tennis in front of a full stadium with the energy of the crowd. I really hope we’ll be able to come back to this situation and enjoy.” ¤¤
🙂
Thanks again Augusta! That’s illuminating and reassuring. Very glad Rafa is able to play now at a competitive level without putting too much strain on his body.
😀😀
If clay events are cancelled due to COVID-19, then Rafa will still retain his points from last year, just misses a chance for another slam.
We also do not know by August everything will be fine enough for the USO to be held. I think the US is in worse condition than Europe now.
The US is in a far worse condition than France but that is because they won’t enforce strict measures in the way Macron is prepared to do if the numbers go up again ( although if it’s NY Coumo takes the decision). It would be a big shame to miss out on the chance of winning the USO by prioritising RG if RG doesn’t go ahead.Rafa has 2k points to defend from the USO. It’s not easy to make a decision one way or another.
The only big player to commit so far is Dom who always plays everything anyway.
Things are very bad in the U.S. because the Orange Menace has not taken the virus seriously. I just hope we can survive until we bite this miserable piece of human scum out of office!
I don’t know what to expect at the USO. It’s been so long since Rafa played. I have been staying at home because I am in the high risk category. It has been very stressful. Now that the governor opened up Florida, we have had a big spike in cases. They are more concerned wuth the economy than lives.
Until we VOTE this monster out of office! He is dangerously out of control.
Nny!so glad to see you here darling! I have been leaving you messages here as I have been very worried about you. I know you are at high risk so it’s a massive relief to hear from you.
I also left some messages for you and Rc on the non tennis forum sending you both tons of love and support regarding the criminal psychopathic behaviour of the orange moron.
Lock him up and throw away the key!
Hello NNY, nice to hear from you! Stay safe and take good care of yourself.
Grigor Dimitrov tested positive for COVID-19:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBtKr9dA7wa/
):
AT 1:22 PM, I meant ‘sad’.
Yeah. I blame Djokovic, but they’re all supposed to be Big Boys, so they’ve only themselves to blame. Pretty sure Grigor won’t be the only one to test positive, but the players involved are young and healthy so probably won ‘t come to much harm. Otoh, those they’ve been in contact with…like kids who can take it home to their families….ok, ok, so I’d like to strangle ND! How damn dumb can one guy get???
lucky and Amy,
Hi! Great to be with you again! Thanks fir the kind words. I have asthma so I am at very high risk. My doctor made sure to let me know I had to social distance and stay inside. It’s been quite stressful. What worries me the mist is his irresponsible Trump has been in handling the virus, This is what I was afraid of, that there would be a big crisis and he would not be up to it.
Florida is not doing well since we reopened, I think they moved too fast. But our governor is a Trump clone. I do not have confidence in him at all. They seem more concerned wuth the economy than wuth saving lives. Trump has blood on his hands because his refusal to realize the danger and be proactive, has cost lives.
My sister has had it very tough in New York. They had it very bad. But thankfully they are reopening and the worst is over.
I just hope this country can survive until we get this madman out.
I miss tennis very much.
Breaking news , Grigor Dimitrov ,has tested positive for the corona virus ….
Sorry augusta08 just noticed your post ….
Dimitrov testing positive will not be the only one. Sorry to be so pessimistic, but I think there is a very good chance that neither USO or RG will go ahead this year. The situation is deteriorating globally and no place is immune to the spread of the virus once it gets a head of steam behind it. Let’s hope I’m wrong about the tennis.
Eurosport: “Borna Coric also tests positive for coronavirus after Grigor Dimitrov case:”
https://www.eurosport.com/tennis/adria-tour/2020/borna-coric-also-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-after-grigor-dimitrov-case_sto7783511/story.shtml
Tumaini Carayol (journalist), an hour ago: “Aside from Borna Coric, Novak Djokovic’s fitness coach Marko Paniki and Grigor Dimitrov’s coach Kristijan Groh have also tested positive. Zverev, Cilic and other players are negative according to SportKlub [Serbian TV channel]:”
https://twitter.com/tumcarayol/status/1274973813491535877
🙁
Borna Coric writes on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBuqAzdh4wd/
Adam Addicott (editor of UbiTennis): “Marin Cilic confirms he has tested negative for COVID-19 but will still be going into a 14-day self-isolation to help minimise the potential spread:”
https://twitter.com/tennisbanter/status/1274982361608925184
Michal Samulski (a tennis writer), half an hour ago: “According to SportKlub, Novak Djokovic and his family were tested for COVID-19. The results will be announced later:”
https://twitter.com/MichalSamulski/status/1275010511059517445
Michal Samulski, 6 hours ago: “Adria Tour another statement: It is recommended that anyone who has been in close contact for more than 10 minutes with tennis player (Dimitrov) be advised to self-isolate for 14 days:”
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1274939470853349377
(The statement was obviously released before Borna Coric was tested positive.)