US Open will be ‘safe for players’ and ‘unaffected’ by cancellation of Washington Open, says USTA

US Open
Empty Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows - US Open

The US Open and Cincinnati Open are going ahead as planned despite the cancellation of the Washington Open with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) insisting they “will create a safe and controlled environment for players and everyone else involved”.

The revised 2020 ATP Tour calendar was dealt a big blow this week when the Citi Open was called off with tournament manager Mark Ein admitting there were “too many unresolved external issues”.

OFFICIAL: 2020 Washington Open cancelled due to ‘too many unresolved external issues’

The ATP 500 event was scheduled for August 10-17 and was due to be one of two warm-up events before the 2020 US Open with the Cincinnati Open, which has been moved to Flushing Meadows, the other.

The cancellation cast further doubt over the US Open, but USTA insists the hard-court Grand Slam is going ahead as planned.

“Though unfortunate, the USTA understands the rationale for cancelling the Citi Open at this time,” a statement read.

It continued: “This decision in no way impacts the US Open or the Western & Southern Open.

“The USTA will create a safe and controlled environment for players and everyone else involved in both tournaments that mitigates health risks that was approved by the State of New York and also conforms to the standards put forth by New York City and the federal government.

“We constantly base our decisions regarding hosting these tournaments on our three guiding principles that include safety and health of all involved, whether hosting these events are in the best interest in the sport of tennis and whether this decision is financially viable.

“We are confident we remain in-line with all three guiding principles.”

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