Image Courtesy: WTA
In 2021, the U.S. Open tennis tournament will allow full spectator capacity for the entire two-week event, a year after spectators were banned due to the covid-19 pandemic. The United States Tennis Association said on Thursday that all court and grounds passes will be available for purchase in July.
From August 30 to September 12, the year’s last Grand Slam tournament will be placed at Flushing Meadows in New York. As the globe emerges from more than a year of COVID-19 limitations, the USTA’s decision to restore to its typical number of people on-site is the latest step in a return to normal for New York and fans of other sports.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that 70 per cent of the state’s adults have got at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, easing several of the state’s remaining social distancing regulations.
The New York Mets stated on Wednesday that they will reopen next week at full capacity. On Tuesday night, a baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles drew a sellout crowd of 52,078 fans. On May 30, the Indianapolis 500 sold roughly 135,000 tickets or 40% of the total capacity of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Since the Australian Open in January-February 2020, the U.S. Open will be the first Grand Slam tournament to have a full house. The USTA held the 2020 U.S. Open with no spectators at all, substantially altering the ambience and competitive conditions at an event where noisy crowds are a regular occurrence, particularly during night sessions at Arthur Ashe Stadium, which seats 23,771 people.
The 2019 U.S. Open drew over 700,000 spectators. During Week 1 of the recently finished French Open, more than 5,000 spectators entered the Roland Garros grounds each day, rising to more than 13,000 by the finish. For the singles finals last weekend, the main stadium, Court Philippe Chatrier, was limited to 5,000 fans, or about a third of its capacity.
The All England Club and the British government confirmed this week that when Wimbledon begins on June 28, Centre Court will be 50% filled, climbing to 100% by the time the women’s and men’s singles finals take place on July 10-11. Because of the pandemic, Wimbledon was cancelled entirely in 2020, marking the first time since 1945 that the championship had not been held.