US Open Will Be Held Without Fans, Cuomo Says

FLUSHING, QUEENS — The U.S. Open tennis tournament will be held this summer as scheduled, but without spectators in the stands, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.

The U.S. Tennis Association will take "extraordinary precautions" to protect players and staff from the coronavirus as the tournament takes place from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13 in Queens, Cuomo told reporters.

Health and safety measures will include "robust" testing, extra locker room space, additional cleaning and dedicated housing and transportation, according to the governor's office.

"It will be held without fans, but we can watch it on TV, and I'll take that," Cuomo said.

U.S. Tennis Association CEO Mike Dowse confirmed that this year's tournament will happen at its usual home, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing.

One of the stadium complex's training facilities was transformed into a temporary hospital for patients with the coronavirus in April, when New York City was struggling to get the pandemic under control.

"We recognize the tremendous responsibility of hosting one of the first global sporting events in these challenging times, and we will do so in the safest manner possible, mitigating all potential risks," Dowse said in a statement Tuesday. "We now can give fans around the world the chance to watch tennis' top athletes compete for a US Open title, and we can showcase tennis as the ideal social distancing sport."

Some of the sport's biggest names, including Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, have voiced concerns about playing in the tournament, according to Reuters.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the French Open was moved to September and Wimbledon was canceled, Reuters reported.