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Since players began arriving at the US Open bubble last Thursday, the USTA has performed some 1,400 COVID-19 tests.
So far, there has been one positive case, announced Tuesday.
It is not a player, but an accompanying person. And that person is asymptomatic. The positive test came not on the initial test, but on the mandatory re-tests that take place 48 hours later for anyone entering the US Open bubble.
“In accordance with New York State Department of Health requirements, and in alignment with CDC guidelines and the tournament health and safety protocols, the individual has been advised that they must isolate for at least 10 days. And in addition, contact tracing has been initiated to determine if anyone must quarantine for 14 days,” the statement from the USTA said.
“In our contingency planning we expected this to happen. We conducted 1,400 tests; mathematically we expected to have a positive, if not more than one,” USTA CEO Michael Dowse said on a conference call with media Tuesday morning. “So we did anticipate this and we have put very specific protocol in place to prevent this from spreading broadly.”
From the sound of it, the person who tested positive had a roommate at the official hotel. So, having been exposed, that person may have to be quarantined for 14 days. And there might be more.
Because of the fact that the infected individual would have been allowed to be credentialed and have access to the grounds at the USTA National Tennis Center after that first negative test, they may have exposed others.
The USTA’s staff will commence contact tracing, with the help of the tracking system built into the tournament credentials. The New York Test and Trace Program will do its own, once the USTA has reported the positive test.
Four-day advance arrival
US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster said on the conference call that the players and accompanying persons must have entered the bubble four days before they are due to play. So anyone in the main draw for the “Cincinnati” tournament must already have arrived, or they can’t play.
The same will apply for those who are coming only for the US Open proper. That includes the doubles players who were unable to get into the “Cincinnati” draw but are in the US Open draw. It also includes the wheelchair players.
“Everything they need”
Allaster said that approximately 90 per cent of the athletes – nearly 350 – are now ‘in residence”, with another 20 or so arriving Tuesday. About 1,000 people in all will be in Tier I of their structure – the people who will interact with each other. The second tier includes broadcasters and others who may interact with other “Tier I” people, but very little. The third tier inside the bubble will include security, parking and vendor staff, who will have even less interaction.
The official hotel, the Long Island Marriott, is 100 per cent full of players and team members. As one New York journalist who has covered hockey noted, the hotel, which sits across from the old Nassau Country Coliseum that long hosted the NHL’s Islanders, was nicknamed “Alcatraz” because of its isolation.
Allaster said they’re calling it the Manhattan Project. “You can’t go to Manhattan, but we will bring Manhattan to you,” she said, earnestly but far from convincingly.
The tournament has equipped the hotel with an arcade room, a gaming room, a golf simulator, a sports simulator, and a massive outdoor lounge. There will be food trucks on site every night.
But the rule is: you can’t even check out, never mind leave.
“The athletes have everything they need. They have comfortable housing, medical testing, transportation, practice facilities, trainers, physios, a variety of food services, and a number of experiences for their off time both on site and the official hotels,” Allaster said.
Biggest risk is socializing
Dr. Camins, a member of the USTA Medical Advisory Group and, by day, the Medical Director for Infection Prevention for the Mt. Sinai Health Systems, said the USTA’s biggest concern is ensure they can keep players from socializing too much, too close to each other, not wearing masks, not following the universal masking protocol.
“But in the four days I’ve been involved, everybody has actually been following those recommendations carefully,” Dr. Camins said.
There are extra staff on site, called “health and safety ambassadors”. Let’s call them what they are: “the mask police”. Which is as it should be. But it will be interesting to see who, if any, pushes back. Not that we’ll ever know, with only a few members of the New York City media on site, with no access to the player areas.
But of course, where there’s a will, there’s a way if players or members of their support staff want to sneak out for a little fun. And as we’ve seen during the events that took place during the shutdown of the tours, relying on 20-something millionaires to be grownups and accept being bored out of their minds in a hotel room – never mind for nearly a month – is a lot to ask.
Already, former tennis bad boy and current coach Pat Cash, who works with up-and-coming American teenager Brandon Nakashima, has public stated he found the restrictions too extreme (of course, he later deleted the post).
The private home option
Allaster said there a “very limited number” of players who have opted to rent a private home. And they will be subject to the same restrictions as the people staying in hotels even though they are allowed to have more than the allowed three family and/or team members.
It was unclear whether those extra people would be allowed access to the tournament site. But everyone is tested at the same rate.
What they’re not allowed to do is have additional guests – that would include, say, if they wanted to hire a chef to come in and out to cook for them.
When the cleaning staff enters the home, all of the “Tier I” residents must clear out. The cleaners aren’t tested, but they must be masked and will, in theory, have zero interaction with the members of the house.
Someone who is staying in the house must drive the team to the site, Allaster said, and share the ride navigation information. They must drive there, do what they have to do, and drive back home.
No real alternates
Normally, if players withdraw from a tournament in the final days of the leadup, there are lucky losers ready to take their place. But with no qualifying, alternates will be selected from the doubles players already on site, in order of their singles rankings (if any).
You would expect, even without any more positive tests, that there will be late withdrawals even from players on site, as there is the matter of being able to still go home with 50 per cent of the first-round prize money.
So that’s potentially a very nice pay day for some of the doubles specialists. But the field – which at this stage, includes 81 of the top 100 on the women’s side, and 90 of the top 100 on the men’s side – could be further diluted.
Withdrawal automatic – and not
If a player tests positive during the US Open phase, they would be automatically withdrawn. That’s a call from the New York Department of Health protocol and the CDC guidelines; not ultimately a USTA decision, Allaster said.
If a player tests positive during the “Cincinnati” phase – i.e., working back 10 days from the start of the US Open, i.e. in the next few days – they wouldn’t automatically be withdrawn from the big event. “It will really depend on the symptoms of the athletes, and the doctors will make that determination if they’re eligible to complete,” she added.
Great vibe
“We’ve been thanked quite a bit by players for putting on these events. I think I would say there’s a strong sense of community, that we’re all in this together for our sport and for our fans,” Allaster said.
“The vibe of the players and everyone involved with the players has been incredible the last week. Seeing them show up, doing air hugs and whatnot. They’re so excited to be back into the sport. The energy is very positive” Dowse said. “That’s what really excites me about this opportunity. It’s been a very challenging time for our society. This is a great opportunity to bring everyone together.”
Hope springs eternal
Dowse said that the tournament never had pressure from the board of directors to host the tournament.
“We have 100 per cent confidence we’re doing this properly. It was not a “host at all costs” thing. We were very disciplined in our approach. Health and well-being number one. Number two, the best interests of tennis. Three, does it makes sense for the players, USTA and the broader tennis ecosystem?” he said.
Dowse confirmed that the net operating income from the tournament will be down 80 per cent from a regular year. But through their financial reserves, line of credit and recent layoffs, they can still offer 95 per cent of the 2019 prize to the players, and still fund their community tennis section (which now includes the high-performance department) at a “somewhat comparable level” for 2020 and 2021.
Dr. Camins said that had New York City not been in Phase 4 of its reopening, where sporting events were permitted, it would have been a moot point. If they had not been able to source a partner who could guarantee the turnaround time on coronavirus testing, they couldn’t have done it.
He added, later, that the testing program does not affect the testing in the greater New York region, in terms of the turnaround time for regular clinical testing.
“We feel confident we’re doing the right thing, The protocol is incredible that this team has put together for health and safety,” Dowse said. “We talked about the excitement for tennis and what it means for our industry. Financially have been able to make this work for all the different stakeholders involved.”
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