A week and a half ago, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic said he understood the economic reasons behind the USTA’s desire to stage the US Open, but wondered, “the question is, how many players are willing to accept those terms?”
It now seems that Djokovic, who initially expressed reservations when he first heard about the proposed restrictions, could be on board for the tournament after the USTA publicly announced its decision to move forward Wednesday, and shared more details about the protocols players would need to follow.
“I think that a lot of people were skeptical, especially for the U.S. events considering what the U.S. went through as a country during this pandemic. So a lot of people, including myself, were quite skeptical on whether it would happen or not,” Djokovic told Eurosport’s Tennis Legends Podcast.
“We are very glad that it is happening, of course, and it is very important that we provide opportunities, we provide jobs, we provide opportunities for players to compete. Because at the end of the day, this is what we do. As tennis professionals we love the sport; we are passionate about it. We miss competing and traveling and, at the end of the day, we miss being on tour. So, I think this is a very positive news.”
One of the first issues Djokovic and several other top players expressed was being limited to one team member on site.
Newly appointed US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster revealed in Wednesday’s press conference that each athlete will be allocated two hotel rooms (one covered by the tournament), and as part of that distribution, could “bring up to three additional guests at their choice.”
It was also confirmed that the Western & Southern Open would transfer from Mason, Ohio to New York, and played the week before the Grand Slam event. Allaster added that her team has a realtor readily available, should players wish to rent a private home during their extended stay—permitting those wishing to travel with larger groups that include family members or additional personnel. Manhattan would be excluded from the available selection, which require residences to be in less dense locations.
