Category: Tennis

Defending champion Rafael Nadal has decided not to play the US Open later this month because the coronavirus pandemic is “not under control”.

Spanish world number two Nadal, 34, has not entered the tournament, which takes place in New York from 31 August.

“The health situation is very complicated around the world with cases increasing and flare-ups,” said Nadal.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic leads the men’s entry list, while American great Serena Williams has indicated she will play.

Nadal added: “This is a decision I never wanted to take but I have decided to follow my heart this time and for the time being I rather not travel.”

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is hosting a double tournament at Flushing Meadows, having moved the Cincinnati Masters to New York.

The event will staged at the Billie Jean King Tennis Centre from 22 August, with the US Open taking place immediately afterwards.

Both tournaments will be held without fans and players will have to follow strict measures.

The USTA measures within the safety bubble include regular testing, mitigation measures and increased sanitisation. The organisation said on Friday it was confident the health and safety of everyone involved in the tournaments remained “on track”.

While the WTA Tour resumed in Palermo this week, the Cincinnati-US Open double header will be the first ATP events since March.

“We know that the reduced tennis calendar is barbaric this year after four months stopped with no play,” added Nadal, who will miss a Grand Slam for the first time since Wimbledon in 2016.

American Danielle Kang held her nerve to win the LPGA Drive On Championship by one stroke as the tour resumed in Ohio after coronavirus.

Kang finished on seven under with France’s Celine Boutier a shot behind.

Boutier missed a four-foot birdie putt on the last hole that would have forced a play-off at the Inverness Club.

England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff, who had a share of the lead with Kang and Boutier going into the final day, saw her chances disappear with a three-over 75.

Ewart Shadoff, who was chasing her first LGPA title, was on five under after 12 holes of her final round but dropped shots on the 13th and 14th and double bogeyed the 15th to finish on two under, five behind Kang.

It was the fourth career title for Kang, 27, whose first win was the 2017 Women’s PGA Championship, and who also won in Shanghai in 2018 and 2019.

“I worked really hard for the last seven months,” she said after a two-under-par 70.

“I think just keeping patient and trusting all aspects of your golf brings it out in your game,

“You have got to respect the golf course. Even little putts I didn’t take it for granted.”

The LPGA managed to play only two events in January in the United States and two more in February in Australia before the season was stopped by the global pandemic.

The Inverness Club will host next year’s Solheim Cup event between the US and Europe.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova says some players will not go to the US Open if current coronavirus restrictions continue.

The US Open is due to be played without fans in New York from 31 August.

The country is still reporting tens of thousands of new coronavirus cases daily and possible quarantine rules for players are unclear.

“I know a few players will definitely not go if the restrictions are like they are now,” Kvitova told BBC 5 Live.

The 30-year-old Czech added: “I’m still thinking of what everything will look like, what the restrictions will be, how many people we can take and if they quarantine us.”

World number one Novak Djokovic has previously said he is “not sure” whether he will play, while defending men’s champion Rafael Nadal has also expressed reservations.

The US has reported more than 3.4 million cases of coronavirus, and more than 136,000 deaths nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.

• Coronavirus: Will 2020 US Open survive escalating health crisis?

Kvitova – who is ranked 12th in the world – is one of several top players competing in front of fans at the Bett1 Aces exhibition tournament in Berlin.

It is the first sporting event in Germany to take place with spectators, who have to socially distance in the stands.

Kvitova has played behind closed doors in the past and describes the experience as “weird”, adding that she cannot envisage playing a major tournament in those conditions.

“Playing without the fans in Grand Slams, I can’t really see it,” she said.

“If that happens and everything is OK I will go for sure to compete but there’s still a chance I will not go. I will decide when I know everything.”

Meanwhile, 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams will return to the court for the first time since before the start of the pandemic at the inaugural edition of the Top Seed Open in Lexington, Kentucky, which starts on 10 August.

The US Tennis Association played its trump card at the very first opportunity.

At a news conference to confirm the US Open will go ahead in New York this summer, Serena Williams popped up on the screen to say she cannot wait to take part.

The six time champion, who has had the Flushing Meadows surface shipped to her home for practice, will be trying once again to tie Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

The USTA is hoping her confidence will rub off on others.

There has already been strong public opposition to staging the US Open from Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios, and reticence from Rafael Nadal, Ashleigh Barty and Simona Halep.

Their caution is understandable. If you were to take a holistic approach to the return of professional tennis, you would not start in the United States. Europe is currently a much better bet, as tournament directors in Paris and Madrid draw up plans that even include spectators.

They may remain uncomfortable with the number of Covid-19 cases the United States is reporting; they may not wish to spend weeks away from their family; or perhaps they would prefer to direct all their energies towards the French Open, which will start just 13 days after the curtain falls in New York.

But their sentiments should not divert attention from the fact that many other top 100 players are enthusiastic and relieved that the show is back on the road.