By Andrea Castiblanco
Sports Editor
The annual US Open tournament returned on August 31st with an extensive health and safety plan in full effect. The 2020 US Open was held at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, NY, with no spectators aside from US open employees and the player’s families, coaches and limited entourages. The tournament consisted of 350 players fighting for a Grand Slam title and a $3 million US Open champion’s check along with a plan divided in a three-tiered safety system to control the spreading of coronavirus.
Tier 1 is composed of about 1,000 people, those being the players, coaches, physiotherapists, player’s guests, United States Tennis Association (UTSA) staff, referees, and supervisors. Those in this group have the choice to stay at safety homes while also following safety protocols or staying at the Uniondale Marriot in Long Island which is exclusively rented to the UTSA. Individuals in Tier 1 must also follow the strictest set of precautions, such as two tests for Covid-19 within 48 hours after arriving to New York and after that continuous tests every four days. Tier 2 consists of broadcasters and those approved with limited interaction and exposure with the players. Tier 3 is made up of US Open staff, this includes security, parking and vendors; those in this group have the most limited interactions with the players, none at all. Many players such as some of the world’s Top 10-ranked women such as Ashleigh Barty, Simona Haep, and Bianca Andreescu, pulled out the tournament due to concerns regarding the pandemic and the uncertainty of the procedures. Among the protocols that were set in place by the UTSA were that every individual must submit a daily health questionnaire and have their temperature taken by a UTSA representative. Any individual that registers a temperature of 100.4 or above will have their temperature redone and if the result remains the same, the individual will be prohibited to enter the National Tennis Center. Everyone in the National Tennis Center must wear a mask at all times, the only exceptions being when players are playing, training, practicing or eating.
In the case of a player testing positive, they were disqualified from the US Open draw and asked to be quarantined. The UTSA made a new rule in case of having to fill out a spot of a disqualified player. If singles player is disqualified, the doubles player with the highest singles ranking will step into the spot.