Tennis’ U.S. Open will go on as scheduled, New York governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday.
The tournament will be held in Queens from Aug. 31-Sept. 13, without fans in the stands. “The USTA will take extraordinary precautions to protect players and staff, including robust testing, additional cleaning, extra locker room space, and dedicated housing & transportation,” Cuomo wrote on his Twitter account.
The United States Tennis Association, which runs the Open, has yet to make an official announcement.
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.
— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 16, 2020
If the U.S. Open is able to go on, it will become the first major sports championship to be held during the coronavirus pandemic. The French Open was delayed until September 20 and Wimbledon was canceled.
The Open should give sports-starved ESPN two weeks of live programming. ESPN is in the middle of an 11-year, $770 million rights deal with the USTA that began in 2015. ESPN is also scheduled to get NBA back on the court beginning July 30, as well as the WNBA in late July as well.
Other sports including NASCAR, the UFC, and Germany’s Bundesliga soccer league have already resumed play, with the English Premier League and Spain’s La Liga on track to restart their seasons this month. The NHL has also finalized its return to play plan, but has yet to set a firm date.