Tennis News : US Open 2020 to go ahead as planned

According to reports from New York times the US Open tennis tournament is to go ahead as planned pending formal government approval. According to media reports, four tennis officials speaking on condition of anonymity said that the Grand Slam event would take place in its usual late August-September slot. The tournament will take place at Flushing Meadows without fans from August 31 to September 13 after receiving support from the ATP and WTA Tours. The US Tennis Association is expected to announce the decision later this week. Under proposed safety protocols, US Open players would be confined to a hotel outside of Manhattan and would only be allowed to bring one member of their entourage to the event. Singles qualifying would be eliminated while the doubles tournaments would be reduced from 64 pairings to just 24. The proposed plans for the tournament had been met with widespread reservations amongst leading players in international tennis, with world number one Novak Djokovic the most outspoken critic. Djokovic however said the proposed safety measures and restrictions on the numbers of support staff were problematic.