Serena Williams has confirmed she will play at this year’s US Open, which is set to begin behind closed doors on August 31.
There had been doubts as to whether tennis’ top stars would compete in this year’s edition, after the United States Tennis Association (USTA) proposed a series of strict restrictions to enable the event to take place amid the pandemic.
However, the 23-time grand slam champion said she was looking forward to getting on the court in New York.
“I feel like the USTA is going to do a really good job of ensuring everything is amazing and everyone is safe,” she said in a press conference Wednesday.
“It’s gonna be exciting. It’s been over six months since a lot of us have played professional tennis.
“I’ll certainly miss the fans, don’t get me wrong. Just being out there with that New York crowd and hear everyone cheer, I’ll really miss that in some of those tough matches. But this is crazy, I’m excited.”
Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou recently told CNN that she would most likely miss her home major if her nearly three-year-old daughter Olympia isn’t with her.
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The tennis calendar has already been severely impacted by the pandemic with this year’s Wimbledon canceled and the French Open postponed until September.
Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep were two of the high-profile names to express concern over staging the tournament in New York with the virus still prevalent in the US.
Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, told reporters earlier this month it wasn’t an “ideal” situation.
However, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that the tournament would take place with a number of safety precautions.
