The organizers of the US Open allege that a French tennis player who tested positive for COVID-19 did not adhere to fitness protocols and maintained his claim that the tournament has a “fake bubble”.
When the tournament started on Monday, French player Benoit Paire posted a story on Instagram with a graphic that read “safe environment” and added in French: “I’m fine right now, I have no symptoms.Array.I doubt in saying what”.vraiment.goes in this FALSE BUBBLE.”
“We are confident in the fitness and protection plan put in place for those controlled at the US Open,” USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier told ABC News.
Widmaier stated that, in the initial discussions, “it has obviously been established that the inflamed player does not comply with the fitness protocols that have been approved throughout New York State.”
The USTA announced Sunday that Paire had tested positive for COVID-19 and was asymptomatic, so he was forced to withdraw from the Grand Slam tournament and was informed that he will need to isolate himself for at least 10 days.
Since the outcome of the couple’s positive verification, at least 3 players have publicly revealed that they are now part of the USTA’s enhanced protocol plan for players potentially exposed to COVID-19, which consists of daily verification of the virus opposite every 4 days.
The USTA would disclose the number of players in the improved plan, and mention fitness privacy laws.
The 2020 U.S. Open is the first primary sports championship to be held in the United States since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and tournament organizers have taken precautions to mitigate any imaginable spread of the new coronavirus.
“Our protocol for this task is a little different from that of other leagues; With all the global players and their participation, we have players from around 60 countries around the world,” USTA CEO Mike Dowse told ABC News.
Dowse said from the West and South Cincinnati Championships to the U.S. Open facility in Flushing, Queens, had helped create a 30-day bubble for players.
More than a dozen players withdrew from the tournament as a forward of the game, Simona Halep, who has lately ranked No. 2 in the world.
At the time of his retirement, Halep tweeted, “After weighing all the points in question and with the exceptional cases in which we live, I made the decision not to move to New York to play at the US Open.I said I’d put my fitness at the center of my decision.”
Defending champion Bianca Andreescu also withdrew from the tournament.Andreescu, who has been on tour since October partly due to injury, said the COVID-19 outbreak had prevented him from preparing well for the competition.
Rafael Nadal also announced earlier this month that he would not protect his name at the US Open due to considerations around COVID-19.
“The stage is very confusing around the world, COVID-19 instances are on the rise, it turns out we’re not in control yet,” Nadal wrote on an Instagram post on August 4.”We know that reduced tennis hours are barbaric.This year after four months of unemployment without a game.Array.Es a resolution I never wanted to take, but this time I stand firm in my center and for now I prefer not to travel.”
Despite the replacement of the game, several of the most sensitive players will take up the field, as well as Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Andy Murray, Coco Gauff and Sloane Stevens.
Williams will look to raise a seventh U.S. Open name to his portfolio and tie Margaret Court’s 24-highest-grossing victories ever won through a woman.
“It’s like I’m never happy until I retire,” he said Saturday.
Arthur Ashe Stadium, the biggest level of the game and the central court of the US Open, will be much quieter than in years past.With the help of IBM Watson technology, production groups will give the empty stadium the impression that the nearly 24,000 seats are completed again.
IBM says it will use the AI Highlights generation to recreate the crowd sounds collected from a bunch of video footage captured at last year’s tournament.This generation will appear in the ESPN broadcast of the tournament.
“This year we made a big turn to using Cloud-backed Watson AI to bring enthusiasts closer to action because they can’t be in Flushing in person,” said Noah Syken, vice president of sports at IBM and Entertainment Partnerships.
For some players, the quiet amenities will be a return to the beginning of their tennis career.
“I have more parties in my time with enthusiasts than with enthusiasts, so Array …I think, to be honest, it will take me back to my itinerant debut,” said American tennis star Coco Gauff.
That’s a long way from what 15-year-old Robin might have dreamed of before the youngest player debuted at the main table.
“I’m excited to play against those more sensitive players,” she told “Good Morning America,” adding, “I just need to enjoy this moment and enjoy it all because it’s a wonderful opportunity.And then, of course, I need to win.”
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, the USTA transformed parts of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center into an overflowing hospital with just 500 beds to ease the tension at The Elmhurst Hospital, which has been heavily affected by Queens..
At the beginning of the evening sessions, the USTA will unveil a series of talks called “Champions to Champions” that will pay tribute to the frontline staff of the pandemic.Tennis champions Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Venus Williams, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King will speak to physical care staff to recognize their paintings in the opposite match against COVID-19.
ABC News’ Erielle Reshef and Henderson Hewes contributed to this report.
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