Former Grand Slam legend Boris Becker thinks that the US Open will not be held this year in New York due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The US Open is scheduled from 31st August to 13th September, but there are rumours of a possible move from New York to Indian Wells in the California desert.
“It’s the only Grand Slam standing, but New York was pretty much the worst city hit by the virus a couple of weeks ago. I don’t think it would be wise to have a tournament in New York”, said Becker.
Becker backs Roger Federer’s idea of a merger between the ATP and the WTA.
“I think we are having a moment in crisis in tennis. Apart from the top ten, the top 50 and maybe the top 75 men and women, the rest of the professional players need their weekly pay check, they need their prize money. The fact is that they can’t play, they can’t even go to a club and give lessons because of social distancing. We have to ask ourselves whether tennis is good enough to give jobs for a thousand people. Until the crisis started, the quick answer was yes, but I am sure a lot of tournaments that could not take place are struggling to come back financially, they have lost a lot of money by not hosting. It’s also a question of time. Roger Federer started the ball rolling with his splendid idea of joining forces and I think Nadal agrees. Not every top guys, that’s fine, but I think Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have a strong following. For Federer to suggest that, speaks for his intelligence and also that he truly cares about the game. Just think of the equal prize money and we have in the majors. You know men and women earn the same which I don’t think is happening in every sport”.
