Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios on Thursday slammed the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) after the governing body decided to go ahead with the US Open in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the protests in the US.
Kyrgios took to Twitter to express his disapproval, adding that with everything that has been going on, the ATP was being selfish. Earlier, world no.1 Novak Djokovic had also said that he didn’t appreciate the US Open being held with several restrictions in place.
“The ATP is trying to make the US Open go ahead. Selfish with everything going on at the moment. Obviously Covid, but also with the riots. Together we need to overcome these challenges before tennis returns in my opinion,” Kyrgios tweeted.
The ATP is trying to make the US Open go ahead. Selfish with everything going on at the moment. Obviously Covid, but also with the riots, together we need to overcome these challenges before tennis returns in my opinion. https://t.co/tEHPvr4miB
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) June 11, 2020
Prior to this tweet, he had also tagged Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic, asking, “Do you think the US OPEN should go ahead?” The trio are yet to respond to the tweet.
Do you think the US OPEN should go ahead? @RafaelNadal @rogerfederer @DjokerNole ?
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) June 11, 2020
With the outbreak of the coronavirus, global sports activities came to a standstill in March as several countries banned mass gatherings and imposed lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Scheduled grand slam events, including Wimbledon and French Open, were cancelled with the Roland Garros event being postponed to September.
The US Open is scheduled to be held from August 31 in New York though the city has been declared the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States.
In addition, the US has witnessed widespread anti-racism protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes. People have taken to the streets by the thousands calling for an end to police brutality and discrimination against Black people and other minorities.
Djokovic, in an interview to Serbian broadcaster RTS, had said that he thought the restrictions in place for the tournament were “extreme” not “not sustainable”.
These restrictions include a 14-day quarantine for those coming from outside of the US; restricted access to courts; only one person per competitor will be allowed at matches etc.
