Following a tumultuous week in the tennis world, Japanese players are expressing concerns about plans to relaunch both the men's and women's tours in the U.S. later this summer.
While the ATP and WTA are set to return to empty stadiums — which wasn't the case for the ill-fated Adria Tour organized by Novak Djokovic that led to a mini-cluster of COVID-19 infections among players, including the world No. 1 himself — some are wondering about the viability of holding large-scale tournaments including the U.S. Open.
Restarting amid a pandemic is particularly challenging for a sport that brings together players from all over the world — over 50 countries and states were represented in the U.S. Open men’s and women’s singles draws last year.