Cuomo Announces Support of U.S. Open in New York

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Tuesday that the United States Open would be held as originally scheduled without fans at the U.S.T.A. Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, giving support to a plan by the United States Tennis Association to salvage the Grand Slam tournament that is one of the biggest sporting events in New York.

The Open was scheduled for Aug. 31 to Sept. 13, and had the backing of the men’s and women’s tennis tours, which have been looking for a way to restart the sport during the coronavirus pandemic while also managing the misgivings of top players who expressed concerns about safety and travel restrictions. Many big tennis stars live outside the United States, and guidelines for the tournament would be likely to limit their travel and entourages.

The lack of fans will certainly be a financial hit for the U.S.T.A., but the organization still had the support of its primary sponsors and ESPN, which pays more than $70 million annually in rights fees mainly to televise the tournament.

“We can watch it on TV, and I’ll take that,” Cuomo said.

In a statement, Mike Dowse, chief executive of the U.S.T.A., said tennis could show itself to be an “ideal social distancing sport” through the event.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/16/sports/us-open-tennis-cuomo.html