U.S. Open to Play in August With No Audience
The event hopes to “showcase tennis as the ideal social-distancing sport.”
To the delight of tennis fans all across the globe, the U.S. Open is now going forward this August, despite having no live audience.
The announcement came from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who revealed the new dates of August 31 to September. He also notes that the USTA will “take extraordinary precautions to protect players and staff” through measures such as “robust testing, additional cleaning, extra locker room space, and dedicated housing and transportation.”
“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,” wrote USTA CEO and executive director Mike Dowse. “We now can give fans around the world to watch tennis’ top athletes compete for a US open title, and we can showcase tennis as the ideal social distancing sport.”
Commentators expect ESPN to air the Grand Slam in the U.S., with a feed for all other broadcasters worldwide. Don’t forget to tune in on August 31 if you’re a tennis fan.
In other sports-related news, Olympique de Marseille has unveiled its 20/21 home and away football kit.
The @usopen will be held in Queens, NY, without fans from August 31 to September 13.
The USTA will take extraordinary precautions to protect players and staff, including robust testing, additional cleaning, extra locker room space, and dedicated housing & transportation.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 16, 2020
A Statement on the 2020 US Open pic.twitter.com/WIrb77MXz5
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) June 16, 2020
