comeback complete continued from page 20
A Tournament Like Never Before
2020 U.S. Open has already secured its place in history books t’s cliché and has been said countless times already, but 2020 has been a year unlike any other. The world finds itself in unprecedented times due to the global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, the effects of which can be felt in every aspect of our daily lives. From a basic trip to the grocery store to visiting family, there is hardly anything normal about the “new normal”, which is why this year’s U.S. Open will be different than all the rest. While the tennis tours were put on hold beginning with Indian Wells back in March, the USTA began planning a way to hold the event ontime starting in late-August, examining an array of creative solutions to make it work. In the end, the USTA announced that the tournament would be played, but without fans, and the Western & Southern Open, normally held in Cincinnati, would also be played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the week prior to the start of the U.S. Open. “We are incredibly excited that Governor Cuomo and New York State have today approved our plan to host the 2020 U.S. Open and 2020 Western & Southern Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center,” said USTA CEO & Executive Director Mike Dowse. “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 U.S. Open title, and we can showcase tennis as the ideal social distancing sport. Being able to hold these events in 2020 is a boost for the City of New York and the entire tennis landscape.” It was welcome news for both the local tennis community, and the tennis world as a whole. There have been numerous exhibition events
I
32
continued on page 34 New York Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • NYTennisMag.com
