Naomi Osaka reverses course and now will play her semi-final match at the Western & Southern Open

Naomi Osaka announced today that she has changed her mind and WILL play her semi-final match at the Western & Southern Open. The match will now be played this Friday.

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

All Men's and Women's matches at the tournament originally scheduled for Thursday were postponed after Osaka announced yesterday that she was withdrawing. 

In explaining her decision, Osaka said, “As you know, I pulled out of the tournament yesterday in support of racial injustice and continued police violence. I was (and am) ready and prepared to concede the match to my opponent."

“However, after my announcement and lengthy consultation with the WTA and USTA, I have agreed at their request to play on Friday. They offered to postpone all matches until Friday and in my mind that brings more attention to the movement. I want to thank the WTA and the Tournament for their support.”

Naomi Osaka withdraws from semi-finals of Western & Southern Open, protests more black deaths at the hands of out-of-control police

Joining the leads of NBA, WNBA, and MLB players who refused to play their games today in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake, Naomi Osaka, one of the top draws in women's professional tennis, announced she would not play her semi-final match on Thursday at the Western & Southern Open in New York City.

Photo Credit: Rob Prange, (https://www.flickr.com/photos/186414198@N07/49384180057)

Osaka, formerly ranked no. 1 in the world and currently no. 10, made her announcement on Twitter shortly after winning her quarterfinal match today.

She explained, "As a black woman I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention, rather than watching me play tennis. I don't expect anything drastic to happen with me not playing, but if I can get the conversation started in a majority white sport I consider that a step in the right direction. Watching the continued genocide of Black people at the hand of the police is honestly making me sick to my stomach."

As a result of her action,  officials from  USTA, the WTA, and the ATP announced that all of Thursday's matches will be postponed until Friday. 

In a joint statement, they said, "As a sport, tennis is collectively taking a stance against racial inequality and social injustice that once again has been thrust to the forefront in the United States. The USTA, ATP tour, and WTA have decided to recognize this moment in time by pausing tournament play."

Speculation has begun as to whether Osaka will change her mind and play Friday following this postponement. Additionally, the delay may impact the start of the U.S. Open, which was scheduled to be held in the same facility starting on Monday.

Are you playing tennis during the pandemic?

Depending upon where you live, you may or may not still be under state, county, or city stay-at-home orders that restrict the types of activities and/or interactions you may have with non-household members during this COVID19 pandemic.

Photo credit: © F.J. & K.C. Maccioli

Here in California, lots and lots of public and private tennis facilities have opened. Some of them restrict play to singles only, while others have seemed to care little at all about any restrictions.

Many facilities require that players follow USTA and CDC guidelines such as maintaining social distancing, using a separate can of balls for each player so that players only put their hands on balls with their name on them, and other restrictions.

Operators of tennis facilities must incorporate certain procedures to ensure cleanliness and to minimize the interaction of players, personnel, and others to minimize the possibility of transmission of the virus.

Personally - I am not playing at all. I've taken a strict interpretation of California's stay-at-home order which restricts tennis to singles and only with household members. (Ace's wife doesn't play tennis.) I'm probably the only person in California that does this, but, it's still there in writing on California's COVID19 website.

Many of my friends have said they had permission from the County to do otherwise, but, really, no one  has been able to show me in writing where their local authority got authorization from the state to do so. 

Case in point - my former tennis club opened its doors to singles and doubles to anyone, telling its members it had the approval from local county authorities to do so. I subsequently made a formal public records request of those same authorities, asking for a copy of any such approval. The county responded to me IN WRITING (I have copies if you want to see them) and said that it NEVER gave my club such approval and specifically told them they had no legal authority to open. 

But, like I said, ol' Ace appears to be the only one here that cares about details. And as far as I can tell, the county did nothing to my former tennis club after I let them know what was going on. I can't link any infections to my former club, but, I can say the county I live in is one of the COVID19 hotspots in California right now.

So, be that as it may, what are you doing? Are you playing tennis again? What is your club or public tennis facility doing? Are people wearing masks when not playing? What social distancing practices are being enforced? Are USTA guidelines being followed? Or is it regular tennis as usual, done the same old way we've been doing it for years?

I'd like to hear from you. Let Ace know in the comments below!

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?

If tennis is supposed to be the safest sport to play during the pandemic, then why are USTA and ITF cancelling tournaments?

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) just announced the cancellation of the remaining Adult National Tournaments for Open, Age-Group, and Family Divisions for the rest of 2020. This follows the USTA's cancellation of all national junior tennis events until October 12, 2020.

Photo Credit: USTA (Fair Use) https://www.usta.com/en/home/play/adult-tennis/programs/national/designated-open-sectional-championship-schedule.html?fbclid=IwAR2c5Qg0lw2cwU7nPc2mGtO3b9p4JhyB6pacVQORt7GK0Syh2t30VJFjKDc

Earlier the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced that the Young Seniors and Super Seniors World Championships will be cancelled until 2021.

Some tennis enthusiasts and doctors have asserted that tennis, particularly singles tennis, is one of the safest activities to do during the COVID19 pandemic. The rationale is that the players are separated by a net and can utilize certain techniques - not serving with the same balls, not shaking hands, etc. - that ensure proper social distancing.

However, no one has ever demonstrated in a scientific setting under controlled conditions (or uncontrolled conditions for that matter) that the novel coronavirus cannot be transmitted by playing tennis. If there is such a study, please provide a comment below with a reference. All reports of which we are aware are opinions from those in the field. They may be very valid opinions, based upon their experience and the best data available, but, they are opinions nonetheless. 

No one has conducted an experiment under controlled conditions that shows a virus cannot be transmitted by two (or four) people playing tennis for an hour or two, or longer.

So, if tennis is so safe, then why are USTA and ITF cancelling tournaments?