What happens if Novak, Serena, or one of their opponents in the finals tests positive for COVID19 at the U.S. Open?

Here's something to consider. This year's U.S. Open is notable for being played amidst a worldwide pandemic that has killed almost a million people and infected millions more. It will be played without fans and the players will be living in a bubble to minimize the risk of catching the virus.

Serena Williams, Photo Credit: Edwin  Martinez from The Bronx / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

Some of the players have already had the virus - Novak Djokovic for instance, during his ill-fated Adria tennis tour series. Gregor Dmitrov and Borna Coric also caught the virus during or before those events, which resulted in the exhibition series being cancelled altogether as a result.

So here we are though, about to start the U.S. Open. Most of the top 10 women in the world will not be playing. Serena Williams will, however, as she continues her chase to match the all-time record of Grand Slam championships held by Margaret Court.

Djokovic will be playing as well, his chances to get closer to the number of Grand Slams won by Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal made easier because neither of them will be playing.

But, consider this: suppose Williams and Djokovich each reach the finals. Then the day before their matches are to be played, their opponents test positive for the virus but show no symptoms.

What happens then? Will the matches proceed? Will the matches be delayed? Will the test results (which sometimes show false positives as well as false negatives) be enough to force the withdrawal of their opponents even though they might assert they feel perfectly fit to play? 

Even more problematic - what happens if the player who tests positive, but, has no symptoms is either Serena or Novak?

There's a lot of money at stake at the U.S. Open. There's also a lot of pressure on the organizers to prove they were correct in holding the tournament in the midst of this pandemic. There's a lot at stake for Djokovic, and Williams especially, as they near the end of their careers.

If either Serena and Novak win by default as a result, their victories, which already will have been labeled with an asterisk because of the number of players who withdrew before the tournament started, then their victories will be made to seem even less worthy of acclaim.

The USTA says that "Any player who tests positive during the competitions will be removed from the tournament and isolated."

Really? What do you think?