MUNICH: Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios (pix) has voiced criticism on attempts to stage the US Open as planned in summer, with a final decision reportedly to be made on Monday.
Kyrgios tweeted on Thursday he doesn’t understand how the tournament can go ahead in New York between Aug 31 and Sept 13 despite the coronavirus pandemic and the recent protests against racism in the United States.
“The ATP is trying to make the US Open go ahead. Selfish with everything going on at the moment,” Kyrgios tweeted.
“Obviously Covid, but also with the riots, together we need to overcome these challenges before tennis returns in my opinion.”
All tennis remains suspended until at least the end of July, and there are serious doubts whether the global sport can start in August.
But New York organizers appear set to hold their event, and a video conference was held Wednesday with more than 400 players and coaches.
A participant told dpa the domestic federation USTA “really wants to play” and while the majority of players was critical “opinions varied a lot.”
According to French sports paper L’Equipe, the USTA will decide between three options.
Moving the Cincinnati Masters to New York as a build-up event to be followed by the US Open with a reduced doubles field and no qualifying rounds, as first reported by the New York Times; scrapping Cincinnati and holding the US Open, with an expanded doubles field; or scrapping the US Open like Wimbledon, and Cincinnati as well.
Should the tournament go ahead athletes would face difficult conditions in New York which was one of the Covid-19 epicentres.
Play would be behind closed doors, all athletes would have to stay at the TWA Hotel at JFK airport and not allowed at all to travel to Manhattan where they normally stay, and each player would only be allowed to have one person accompany him or her.
World ranking leader Novak Djokovic and title holder Rafael Nadal have voiced criticism on the strict hygiene concept.
Djokjovic has suggested to media in his native Serbia he would stay there to prepare for the French Open which Paris organizers have unilaterally moved from May/June to a Sept 20 start.
Nadal may consider the same, given that the French Open are his season highlight and he has lifted the trophy there 12 times. – dpa
