Dominic Thiem insists players need ‘three or four’ entourage members to compete at US Open
Dominic Thiem has warned that it will be “extremely risky” for players to take part in the US Open with only one non-playing staff member.
There had been talk that the United States Tennis Association (USTA) will reduce players’ entourages to one to minimise the risk of the coronavirus spreading during the hard-court Grand Slam.
However, world No 1 Novak Djokovic was the first to raise concerns about it while others like British No 1 Dan Evans and American Danielle Collins dismissed his fears.
USTA, though, has admitted they are looking at the health and safety measures and players are likely to be allowed to have a bigger entourage.
Asked by Kronen Zeitung if players will be able to follow the strict rules in terms of personal, world No 3 Thiem replied: “I do not think so. Three or four people must be allowed. It would be extremely risky to travel without your own physio. You need a coach on site.”
The Austrian admitted, though, that while tennis matches will be “normal” when the ATP Tour resumes, everyday life won’t be.
“When the Tour returns, the games will be completely normal,” he said. “We will miss tournaments as we knew them for a long time.
“In New York, Paris or Melbourne there are 60,000, 70,000 people a day on the facility – this former everyday life can or will probably not exist for years!”
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