USTA proposes to stage Cincinnati Masters and US Open in New York

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is eager on saving two-top American events that take place during the summer hard court season as they have proposed staging a doubleheader in New York, per The New York Times. 

The season has been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus outbreak and the suspension will last until at least early-August. 

The suspension is set to expire just when the time comes for the summer hard court season but there is no guarantee that the season will be able to resume in early-August. 

The Cincinnati Masters and US Open take place during the summer hard court season and the USTA has proposed moving the Cincinnati event to New York this year.

The leaders of the ATP and WTA have received the proposal and they would need to formally agree on moving Cincinnati from its traditional location to New York. 

The move could allow foreign payers to stay at one place during their stay in the United States and automatically the chances of having more events grow. 

Bethanie Mattek-Sands praises the USTA for trying to make something possible 

Mattek-Sands, a nine-time Grand Slam champion, says on paper it looks easier to stage the two events if they are held at the same place. 

"I appreciate that everyone is going outside the box to think of solutions in these circumstances,” Mattek-Sands told the New York Times. “We don’t really have anything in the rule books for this situation. Putting two big tournaments in the same place is definitely on the right track because it definitely makes it a bit easier to control some things.”

Whatever happens, one thing is for sure -- there will be rigorous testing for players and staff as the USTA wants to make it as safe as possible. 

“We will insist on a pretravel health questionnaire that they meet with local physicians and local doctors, and Covid-19 tests will be required for everyone,” USTA Chief Executive for professional tennis Stacey Allaster told The New York Times. “They will have to have been symptom-free for a certain period of time before travel and have had no known contact with anyone with Covid-19.”

It remains to be seen if the proposal sent by the USTA will receive green light from the profesional men's and women's tours.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2MqbJq7