USTA says it could not create safety bubble required for two Challenger events.
The North American summer hard-court season continues to shrink.

The USTA cancelled a pair of Orlando ATP Challenger events scheduled for next month. The cancellation comes after the Citi Open in Washington, DC was slashed from the calendar due to Coronavirus concerns.

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The Orlando Open presented by Nemours 1, scheduled for August 22-29th, and the Orlando Open presented by Nemours 2, scheduled to be held August 29-September 6th, both at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida have been cancelled. Both Challengers were created in an effort to provide prize money for lower-ranked players unable to qualify for the US Open. 

The US Open is set to start on August 31st at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The USTA confirmed it still plans to host both the Western & Southern Open and the US Open in succession at the National Tennis Center as scheduled amid a safety bubble designed to protect players, coaches and staff from Coronavirus.

The USTA said after consulting with its medical advisory group it made the decision to axe the Orlando events because creating the safety bubble necessary to ensure protection from COVID-19 was not logistically or economically feasible. 

"Although detailed health and safety protocols had been planned, without the creation of a controlled environment that includes a comprehensive and contained lodging, transportation, food and beverage, and medical testing program in place, as will be the case for the Western & Southern Open and US Open, proper risk mitigation would not be possible – and in the case of these events, this type of environment would logistically and financially be difficult to create," the USTA said in a statement. "As the health and safety for all those involved is the greatest concern of the USTA, these factors, coupled with the current rates of COVID-19 in Florida, were key in driving the decision making process."

Tennis Express

The complete USTA statement on the cancellation is here:

Due to the situation surrounding COVID-19, the USTA has made the decision to cancel the Orlando Open presented by Nemours 1, scheduled to be held August 22 – 29, and the Orlando Open presented by Nemours 2, scheduled to be held August 29 – September 6, both at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. The decision to cancel these two ATP Challenger 150 events was made with input from the USTA Medical Advisory Group, to ensure the health and safety of all those involved with these tournaments.

Although detailed health and safety protocols had been planned, without the creation of a controlled environment that includes a comprehensive and contained lodging, transportation, food and beverage, and medical testing program in place, as will be the case for the Western & Southern Open and US Open, proper risk mitigation would not be possible – and in the case of these events, this type of environment would logistically and financially be difficult to create. As the health and safety for all those involved is the greatest concern of the USTA, these factors, coupled with the current rates of COVID-19 in Florida, were key in driving the decision making process.

Photo credit: Jennifer Pottheiser/USTA

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