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U.S. Open organisers expect to make decision in June - report

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) will make a decision on the U.S. Open in June at the ear...
Stephen Doyle
Stephen Doyle

1:01 PM - 16 Apr 2020



U.S. Open organisers expect to...

Sport

U.S. Open organisers expect to make decision in June - report

Stephen Doyle
Stephen Doyle

1:01 PM - 16 Apr 2020



The United States Tennis Association (USTA) will make a decision on the U.S. Open in June at the earliest amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

All tournaments and events under the USTA's jurisdiction have been suspended since March and that suspension was this week extended until at least May 31.

The U.S. Open, which is normally the fourth and final Grand Slam in the tennis calendar, is due to take place from 24 August until September 13.

Spain's Rafa Nadal and Canada's Bianca Andreescu will both be hoping to defend their respective men's and women's singles titles at Flushing Meadows this year.

Wimbledon has already been cancelled for this year due to the pandemic while the organisers of the French Open took the decision to suspend the clay court Grand Slam.

Tennis chiefs in France have moved the tournament at Roland Garros to take place from 20 September to 4 October which would mean players only have a week to recover from the U.S. Open.

The USTA have said that they are still planning to go ahead with their hardcourt Grand Slam in New York.

"We don't have a hard date set yet (to make a decision), just because things are changing so fast," USTA Chief Executive Michael Dowse was quoted as saying in the New York Times.

"You can imagine the runway to ramp up the U.S. Open is not a short runway, so I'm thinking probably the latter part of June, sometime in that June time frame."

New York has been the hardest hit U.S. state with 10,899 people dying from the disease while there are currently a total of 639,664 confirmed cases in the U.S. - according to the John Hopkins University and Medicine's latest figures.

There is an indoor facility at the site of the U.S. Open that is currently being used as a temporary hospital.



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