New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday announced the U.S. Open tennis tournament is on schedule to be held this year in Queens, N.Y. from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13 without spectators due to health concerns associated with the coronavirus. Cuomo said the United States Tennis Association (USTA) “will take extraordinary precautions to protect players and staff, including robust testing, additional cleaning, extra locker room space and dedicated housing and transportation.” The USTA said they are “incredibly excited” by Cuomo’s approval to push ahead with the U.S. Open. “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,” said Mike Dowse, USTA Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director.Dowse also described “tennis as the ideal social distancing sport,” and “a boost for the City of New York and the entire tennis landscape.” The green light for the U.S. Open makes it the first of the Grand Slam tournaments to be held after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The French Open, originally scheduled for May 2020, was moved to September and London’s famed Wimbledon tournament was cancelled.
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