By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, July 18, 2020
USTA CEO Mike Dowse on three keys to pull off a successful US Open and why tennis is the "perfect" sport in this Coronavirus climate.
Photo credit: US Open Facebook
The US Open site served as a 350-bed hospital for Coronavirus patients during the peak of the pandemic in New York City last spring.
USTA CEO Mike Dowse asserts tennis is the perfect panacea sport as Americans navigate the new normal posed by the pandemic.
Watch: Leo Borg Joins Rafa Nadal Academy
During a Delray Beach Open live chat with Ivan Baron, Dowse discussed the USTA's approach for next month's US Open and his view that the growth of the game will be a silver lining amid a dangerous and unsettling Coronavirus climate.
The US Open is aiming to make major history next month as the first Grand Slam to play without fans.
The Flushing Meadows major is set to start on August 31st without fans or media in an effort to create a "safety bubble" for players and staff to reduce the risk of a Coronavirus break-out that occurred on the Novak Djokovic-led Adria Tour last month.
Djokovic, reigning US Open champion Rafael Nadal, Simona Halep, Kiki Bertens and Petra Kvitova are among the players who have expressed concern playing the first bubble-wrapped Slam.
Dowse said in an effort to ensure safety, the USTA is adhering to three key principles that must be met for the US Open to start as scheduled.
"Those three principles are: can we pull it off in a healthy, safe way for everyone? That’s the players, our staff and the city of New York," Dowse told Ivan Baron. "If we can do that, then we go to two: is it good for tennis? Is it in the best interest of tennis? Does it stimulate excitement? Does it stimulate the tennis eco-system? And three, does it financially make sense?
"And as of today all three of those are still true. We have the green light on all three. We’ve worked really closely with the city of New York, the state of New York to make sure our health protocols are proper."
While the prospect of playing the world's loudest Slam without fans may sound as strange as hosting New Year's Eve in Times Square without revelers, the USTA believes this unique moment can be a platform to propel tennis popularity.
"The silver lining is even more of a silver lining," Dowse said. "We’re fighting fires. We have some burning platforms right now with the Coronavirus and the US Open. The silver lining is tennis is the perfect sport coming out of this pandemic.
“We’ve heard that sales of pre-strung tennis racquets and tennis balls have doubled since the end of March. And we know people buying racquets and balls, they are new players and that’s exciting. If you drive by public courts right now, they’re full. Tennis is the perfect COVID sport."
Tennis can challenge players on multiple levels and serve as a source of stress-relief during the coronavirus crisis. The fact that it's a non-contact sport played on a 78-foot long court makes tennis an ideal physical-distancing sport.
"We don’t say it’s social distancing, it’s physical distancing," Dowse said. "Because you’re still socializing in tennis even though you’re across the net from one another.
"It’s the perfect sport. It’s socially rewarding, it’s intellectually rewarding and it’s physically rewarding. That’s everything people want after being locked down in their homes for months."