Simona Halep, #2 WTA player in the world, drops out of U.S. Open due to health concerns related to COVID19

 The 2020 U.S. Tennis Open suffered another loss of a key player today with the announcement by world #2 Simona Halep that she will skip the tourney and stay in Europe.

Halep just won the Praque Open yesterday. 

Photo Credit: si.robi / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Although New York City is no longer considered the hotspot for the novel coronavirus that it was last spring, lots of concerns have been raised because of the players who will be entering New York from other parts of the country and the world that still are or becoming hot spots.

In announcing her decision, Halep said, "After weighing up all the factors involved and with the exceptional circumstances in which we are living, I have decided that I will not travel to New York to play the U.S. Open. I always said I would put my health at the heart of my decision."

Halep joins 5 other of the top 8 ranked women in the world in skipping the tourney, included defending champion and #6 Bianca Andreescu, #1 Ash Barty, #5 Elina Svitolina, #7 Kiki Bertens, and #8 Belinda Bencic.

Another top WTA player drops out of the U.S. Open

Belinda Bencic, a semi-finalist in last year's U.S. Open and currently ranked #8 in the world, announced that she will be withdrawing from this year's tournament. Although she did not specifically say so, it is obvious to everyone that the reason was due to COVID19 concerns.

Belinda Bencic

Photo Credit: Tatiana from Moscow, Russia / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Bencic is one of 3 semi-finalists from last year who will not play. The others are #5 Elina Svitolina and #6 Bianca Andreescu, who made history by winning the event last year in her first attempt.

Another one bites the dust - former finalist Kei Nishikori has COVID19, withdraws from U.S. Open tuneup tourney

Former U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori, who lost the 2014 U.S. Open title to Marin Cilic and made it to the semi-finals in 2016 and 2018, announced that he has tested positive for COVID19. As a result, he has withdrawn from the upcoming Western & Southern Open. 

Photo Credit: si.robi / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Normally held in Cincinnati, that tournament was moved to the site of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, NY this year.

Nishikori said he will give further details next Friday on his plans for the Open. Once ranked as high as #4 in the world, he currently is at #31 and would be seeded at the Open.

It should be noted that Nishikori is based in Florida, which has been a major hotspot for COVID19 infections in the United States.

Prediction - this year's French Open will be cancelled

I don't know if you heard it here first or not, but, if you haven't already, then you have now.

Ace predicts the French Open, which had been postponed until the end of September, will be cancelled in its entirety within 2 weeks.

Photo Credit:  © Yann Caradec

https://www.flickr.com/photos/la_bretagne_a_paris/4634644549

Recent reports out of France have said that there is a rapid and unexpected resurgence of new COVID-19 cases in Paris and Marseilles. As a result, the French government has declared both cities "high risk" coronavirus zones.

With this increase of COVID-19 cases in France, many neighboring countries are reportedly now imposing new restrictions and/or travel bans to or from France, declaring Paris and other French areas "red zones" for travel.  Indeed, France itself has declared Paris a red zone.

The French Open is held in Paris.

French Open officials have previously said the postponed tournament would be held with fans in attendance.

Ace predicts that not only will that not happen, but, the tournament will be scrapped entirely for this year.

Like I said, if you haven't already, you heard it here first.

Another defending champ withdraws from the 2020 U.S Open Tennis Championships

Bianca Andreescu, the Canadian woman who made history by winning the 2019 U.S. Open in her first attempt, announced yesterday that she will not play in this year's tournament. She joins defending Men's champion Rafa Nadal in not entering the tournament because of COVID19 concerns.

Photo Credit: KeithAllisonPhoto.com

"After many discussions with those closest to me, I have made the difficult decision not to return to New York this year," Andreescu said in a social media post. "I have taken this step in order to focus on my match fitness and ensure that I return ready to play at my highest level."

Andreescu has been injured and unable to practice sufficiently or play on the Women's tour since last October. She joins World #1 Ash Barty, #5 Elina Svitolina, and #7 Kiki Bertens on the sidelines, as well as other notables such as Svetlana Kuznetsova and Fiona Ferro, who recently won the first tournament played since the re-opening in Palermo, Italy.

The withdrawals open up opportunities for both Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic to add to their collection of U.S. Open titles. Djokovic is the lone remaining member of Men's tennis' Big 3 with the earlier withdrawal of Nadal and the absence of Roger Federer, who is out following knee surgery.

Addiitonally, former champion Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, and Gael Monfils have also withdrawn. 

Questions still remain as to whether the tournament will still proceed as scheduled. The first matches are set to begin on August 31.