USTA announces U.S. Open and Western Southern Open Tennis as first live events to be played in August despite pandemic

The 2020 US Open will play as scheduled—preceded by the Western & Southern Open—with Governor's approval.

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo endorsed playing the US Open starting August 31st—without fans and with safety protocols in place—in a tweet today.

More: US Open Will Play on Schedule

"The US Open will be held in Queens, NY, without fans from August 31 to September 13," Cuomo tweeted. "The USTA will take extraordinary precautions to protect players and staff, including robust testing, additional cleaning, extra locker room space, and dedicated housing & transportation."


The US Open will be the first Grand Slam to play since the coronavirus pandemic erupted.

Wimbledon cancelled for the first time in 75 years due to the virus.

The Flushing Meadows major is bringing the Queen City to Queens.

The USTA announced the Western & Southern Open, played annually in Cincinnati, will move to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and be contested before the US Open.

"We are incredibly excited that Governor Cuomo and New York State have today approved our plan to host the 2020 US Open and 2020 Western & Southern Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center," USTA CEO Mike Dowse said. "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.

"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."

tennisnow.com

Personally I think this is a monumentally bad idea. It's not only unfair to players and fans alike, but a Grand Slam without a crowd just seems pointless entertainment wise. 

Also how much does the USTA stand to gain financially with all the health restrictions/expenses with no crowds to bring in revenue?. I'm not sure that's feasible. 

I will be honestly surprised if even half of the top ten players agree to travel to the U.S. right now, especially New York City which is still a real hot spot for the virus. 

So again really not sure what the USTA is thinking. I am all for having live tennis again, but it is still unsafe and seems foolish to be putting people at risk for the sake of a few bucks. 

Also Roger Federer is not going to play so that's another minus in the column for me. I hope the players stand their ground and refuse. 

Can't put on an event without participants.