U.S. Open Loses Two More Top-Ranked Players To Coronavirus Fears

The two are the latest top draws who are withdrawing from the major tournament due to the coronavirus pandemic — earlier this week Spain’s Rafael Nadal, the No. 2 men’s player in the world, said he would not defend his 2019 title this year because of the pandemic.

The U.S. Open Tennis Championships are set to run from Aug. 31 through Sept. 13, and, like the NBA are set to be held in a bio-secure “bubble” with no spectators, according to ESPN, which earlier reported the two most recent dropouts.

The U.S. Tennis Association, which stages the tournament, did not mention the latest defections on its social media pages or its website but noted that Great Britain’s Andy Murray will lead the men’s wild cards.

An update from Tuesday on the USTA website still listed Svitolina and Bertens as being among the “13 Grand Slam singles champions and nine [of the] Top 10 women in the world” to headline the women’s singles competition at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., a list that includes No. 9 Serena Williams.

The Ukrainian Svitolina said on Twitter she respects the efforts that have gone into holding the matches “in a safe environment,” but added “I still don’t feel comfortable to travel to U.S. without putting my team and myself at high risk.”

On Instagram, Bertens, who hails from the Netherlands, said “the situation around Covid-19 is still that worrying and the health of everyone and the control over this virus is priority;” adding that the mandatory 14-day quarantine period on her return would “disturb our preparation for my beloved clay court tournaments in Rome and Paris.”

Women’s world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty also has opted against travelling to New York to play the hardcourt Grand Slam as well as the Western & Southern Open that will work as a warm up for the U.S. Open; and CBS Sports reported that Australian Nick Kyrgios also is sitting the event out.