Thank You For the 2020 US Open

When the 2020 US Open came to a close this past Sunday, it was a phenomenal achievement by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in cooperation with the WTA and ATP Tour. I’m not sure the general tennis fan understands what an enormous undertaking this was — bringing more than 150 players from more than 60 countries and their entourages to New York, establishing a testing program, reimagining every inch of space at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center to create additional player areas and having only a handful of positive tests is a modern day miracle. I have been an occasional critic of the USTA for not better promoting and building grassroots tennis to develop future champions, but the organization deserves unlimited credit and appreciation for their outstanding organizational ability to make the 2020 US Open not only possible but highly successful as well.

Think of the thousands of hours of preparation and planning by USTA President and Chairman of the Board Pat Galbraith, who made the decision to go forward; new CEO Michael Dowse who oversaw the prize money and financial agreements necessary to host the tournament; Stacey Allaster in her first year as tournament director; and the hundreds of staff, both on-site and working remotely. Kudos to all of you on a great job coming together and making the event happen.

It’s no secret some players were unhappy with the “bubble” and the restrictions that were put in place to keep them and everyone else safe, but those complaints have not been limited to tennis. Athletes from other sports playing in “bubbles” have had similar complaints but have adjusted over time. Most players acted responsibly and understood the tremendous opportunity they had to play the first major in tennis amid COVID-19 for $54 million in prize money and in front of a global television audience.

When the US Open crowned Dominic Thiem Men’s Singles Champion, it was the first time since Stan Wawrinka won Roland Garros in 2016 that someone other than “the big three” (Federer, Nadal and Djokovic) has won a Grand Slam. And the final four men standing — including Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Pablo Carreno Busta — have shown the future of men’s tennis is in good hands.

On the women’s side, Naomi Osaka continued her rise to the top by capturing her third Grand Slam title at the age of 22 while Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Tsvetana Pironkova proved to the world what working moms can do. And Americans Sofia Kenin, Shelby Rogers and Jennifer Brady had great runs deep into the second week on the world’s largest tennis stage.

I can’t talk about the 2020 US Open without addressing the default of world No. 1 and three-time US Open Champion Novak Djokovic. It was a terrible loss to the tournament, but it was the right decision and proved no player is above the rules.

Thank you to all the players and the organizers of the 2020 US Open for a unique and much-needed live success story in pro sports. You exemplified what resiliency and “New York Tough” is all about, and provided two weeks of spectacular tennis which the sport so desperately needed.

Donald Dell
International Tennis Hall of Fame 2009