New York: The US Open Will Bar Fans from attending the four-day qualifying tournament this year, the US Tennis Association announced on Thursday.
With Global Coronavirus pandemic still affect the United States, the organizer of the Grand Slam Tennis Tournament at the end of the year said the decision was made after a meeting with New York health officials.
“After consulting with local health authorities and the US Open medical team, it is determined that it is the right decision to ensure all health and safety,” Usta said in a statement.
Officials allowed 100% seating capacity for the main draw event which began on Flushing Meadows on August 30.
But the organizer said that because of the Covid-19 protocol that there was a lack of indoor spaces in the national tennis center Billie Jean King which would be felt especially during qualifications “when the number of players was the biggest and their group was on the site.” Because the indoor capacity at the national tennis center of Usta Billie Jean King has greatly reduced due to the Covid protocol, many player facilities, including eating, training.
, and recreational facilities, have been moved out to the NTC page to the public area for qualifying weeks.
“With that, there isn’t enough space to allow fans to access sites while still ensuring the security of players and fans,” they said about the decision to ban fans during the qualifications, which took place from August 24-27.