Dabrowski slams decision to go ahead with US Open

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought normal life to a standstill of sorts all over the world, with many activities considered regular and part of everyday life having to be curtailed in order to stay safe. Sports has been one of the hardest-hit pastimes in this regard, with live sporting events becoming almost impossible in the current scenario. It has therefore not been surprising to see the biggest sporting events in the world have to be suspended, postponed or even cancelled altogether as the world deals with this mess. The likes of football, Formula One, basketball and so on have all seen tournaments having to be postponed or suspended, but some of these are now coming back in an extremely safe and restricted manner, with no fans in attendance, of course.

Tennis has been no different, and this year saw Wimbledon, one of the marquee Grand Slam events on the annual tennis calendar, have to be postponed for the first time since the Second World War, which serves as the perfect example to show the impact that the coronavirus has had on the world. However, there have been tentative efforts to host tennis events again, as some countries open up their economies, and the US Open, which is the last Grand Slam of the calendar year, is now being considered to be held on its original dates, without postponement and behind closed doors with no fans in attendance.

However, this move has not gone down well with everyone. New York has been one of the hardest-hit areas in the USA with regard to the virus, and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s decision to host the US Open as scheduled has been met with quite a lot of criticism as well.

Among one of the most outspoken critics is Canadian doubles player Gabriela Dabrowski. Dabrowski, who has won the Australian Open and French Open mixed doubles titles, said that it would be ‘impossible’ to create a secure bubble where players only move back and forth between the hotel and Flushing Meadows, the venue for the US Open. Her point is that there will definitely be contact with other people, which puts both them and the players at tremendous risk. The 28-year-old has been met with support from some quarters as well, despite the fact that not hosting a tournament would have a negative impact on many other sectors, such as online betting for example, with Canadians unable to place bets on her at the best online gambling sites in Canada. At the same time, she has also criticised the US Tennis Association’s move to scrap qualifying for the tournament, as well as drop the doubles draw to 32 entries and do away with mixed doubles altogether, saying that it is not a Slam without those events and without qualifying, and having such a streamlined version of the tournament only increases the inequality in tennis.

Nevertheless, the safety and security of players and organizers should be of paramount importance, and WTA world no 2 Simona Halep has also expressed her misgivings about participating in the tournament due to the protocols in place. At the same time, the likes of American John Isner have shown support for this decision, so it is clear that the tennis fraternity remains deeply divided on this issue. We will only have to wait and see what the next couple of months brings, and whether New York sees enough of a reduction in cases for the US Open to be held safely and on schedule this year.