Serena anxious to play U.S. Open, as Kyrgios calls organizers 'selfish' - Press Herald

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Serena Williams ‘cannot wait to return’ to play in the 2020 U.S. Open. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion said in a video shown during the U.S. Tennis Association’s tournament presentation Wednesday, June 17, 2020, that she to play in the the major championship she has won six times. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Associated Press

NEW YORK — Serena Williams is planning to play in the 2020 U.S. Open.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion said in a video shown during the U.S. Tennis Association’s tournament presentation Wednesday that she “cannot wait to return” to New York for the major championship she has won six times.

The 38-year-old American was the runner-up in Flushing Meadows each of the past two years.

Australia’s Nick Kyrgios says the ATP is being selfish in staging the U.S. Open with COVID-19 still an issue and with protests continuing around the country. Andy Brownbill/Associated Press

Australia’s Nick Kyrgios isn’t quite so excited. He called the ATP selfish for trying to go ahead with the U.S. Open while the country continues to battle the COVID-19 and watches anti-racism protests around the country.

With the likes of defending champion Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic expressing reservations regarding participating the U.S. Open, Kyrgios feels it is insensible on the ATP’s part to give a go-ahead to the tournament.

“The ATP is trying to make the US Open go ahead. Selfish with everything going on at the moment,” Kyrgios, ranked just No. 40 but a showman who is popular with fans, said on Twitter. “Obviously Covid, but also with the riots. Together we need to overcome these challenges before tennis returns in my opinion.”

Since March, the tennis season has been put on hold. The French Open has been postponed while the Wimbledon has been cancelled. However, the U.S. Open is likely to go ahead despite top players expressing their concerns in terms of travelling. Nadal last sounded apprehensive when asked about resuming competitive tennis, whereas Djokovic mulled the idea of pulling out of the U.S. Open in order to prepare for French Open.

“Most of the players I have talked to were quite negative on whether they would go there. For me currently, as things stand, most probably the season will continue on clay at the beginning of September,” Djokovic said on Wednesday.

The U.S. Open normally is the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of each season. It will be held without spectators from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13, making it be the second major of 2020, following the Australian Open, which concluded in early February.

The French Open was postponed from May because of the virus, and on Wednesday officials said it is now is being pushed back an additional week to be played from Sept. 27 to Oct. 11. That doubles the gap from the Sept. 13 end of the U.S. Open.

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