The new CEO of the U.S. Tennis Association says he expects a decision on the status of the 2020 U.S. Open to be made by June and calls the prospect of holding the Grand Slam tournament without spectators because of the coranivirus pandemic “highly unlikely.”
Mike Dowse, whose term began on Jan. 1, said in a conference call with reporters Thursday that “time is on our side at this point” because the U.S. Open is not scheduled to begin until late August.
It would be the next major tennis championship on the calendar because the French Open’s start was postponed from May until September and Wimbledon was canceled altogether.
The men’s and women’s tennis tours are on hold entirely until at least mid-July, and one tournament in August already has been scrapped.
As for holding the U.S. Open with no fans, Dowse said the USTA is “not taking anything off the table, but right now, I’d say that’s a highly unlikely scenario.”
He did add that the USTA “may reconsider.”