US Open 2020: New York Governor Says Tennis Tournament Will Be Held Without Fans

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that the 2020 U.S. Open tennis tournament would still take place over the summer, but with no fans in attendance. Cuomo spoke about the annual tournament as part of his daily coronavirus briefing at the state’s capital of Albany.

“We're excited about the U.S. Open, [which] is going to be held in Queens, Aug. 31 through Sept. 13. It will be held without fans, but you can watch it on TV — and I'll take that,” Cuomo said. “The tennis authorities are going to be taking extraordinary precautions, but that's going to take place.”

Cuomo said the caveat is the USTA will not allow any fans into the arenas, though the matches will still be televised. Other precautions being taken include regular testing, extra cleaning in the facilities and locker rooms, and monitoring housing and transportation being provided to all participants.

USTA CEO Mike Dowse said he was pleased with Cuomo’s decision in a public statement after the briefing.

“We are incredibly excited that Governor Cuomo and New York State have today approved our plan to host the 2020 U.S. Open,” 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.”

Cuomo did not say if matches will be played at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. While the center has been the traditional home for the U.S. Open, it was converted into a field hospital to treat the initial surge of coronavirus patients.

Traditionally the final Grand Slam tournament, the U.S. Open will only be the second held in 2020 after the Australian Open ended on Feb. 2.

The French Open, which is held in May, was postponed to September and will begin a week after the U.S. Open. Wimbledon was canceled outright for the first time since 1945 due to the pandemic.

Another question is if any of the sport’s big names will participate. Stars like Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Ashleigh Barty, and Novak Djokovic have all expressed reservations about playing during the pandemic.

“Most of the players I have talked to were quite negative on whether they would go there,” Djokovic previously told ESPN.