Ten notable tennis players who will not compete at the U.S. Open

The 2020 United States Open will be at Flushing Meadows later this month with zero spectators. It will be the second major of the calendar year, following the Australian Open in February. However, there will be 10 notable tennis players who will not be at the U.S. Open, or the Western & Southern Open, which has been moved from Cincinnati to New York for the year. Many players on the list are household names who are extremely popular on the ATP and WTA Tour

10) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga–France–The 35-year-old father has decided not to participate. Currently 49th in the world, Tsonga is best known for reaching the final of the 2008 Australian Open, where he lost in four sets to Novak Djokovic.

9) Fabio Fognini–Italy–The nine-time ATP winner who won the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters, is recovering from ankle surgery. Known for his emotional rants in the past, Fognini’s best singles result at a major was the 2011 French Open where he reached the quarterfinals. Expect Fognini to be at Roland Garros in late September.

8) Nick Kyrgios–Australia–The 13th ranked player in the world does not believe it is safe to travel to the United States because of coronavirus, and believes the Black Lives Matter movement is more important than sport at this time. Kyrgios showed outstanding leadership by criticizing Novak Djokovic for the careless exhibition tournaments he and his family helped organize in Serbia and Croatia during the heart of the pandemic.

7) Gael Monfils–France–One of the most notable players on the ATP Tour who is known for his entertaining style, Monfils was marvelous before the coronavirus pause, as he won ATP events in the Netherlands and France. Currently ninth in the world, Monfils’s finest grand slam moment was reaching the semifinal of the 2008 French Open where he lost to Roger Federer.

6) Kiki Beterns–Netherlands–The world number seven on the WTA Tour, Bertens expressed concern about quarantining for 14 days when returning to Europe from the United States. Bertens will probably take the time to prepare for the French Open, where she reached the semifinals in 2016.

5)  Elina Svitolina–Ukraine–Gael Monfils’s girlfriend has made a name for herself on the WTA Tour the last couple of years. The fifth-ranked player in the world was the WTA Finals champion, and reached back-to-back semifinals in 2019 at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

4) Stanislas Wawrinka–Switzerland–The three-time grand slam champion will miss only his second major since 2005. In 2016, Wawrinka won the U.S. Open by defeating Djokovic in four sets.

3) Ashleigh Barty–Australia–The women’s world number one won the French Open a year ago, and will not travel to Flushing Meadows due to coronavirus concerns. She does not want to put her or her team at risk.

2) Roger Federer–Switzerland–The 20-time Grand Slam champion announced back in June that he would miss the remainder of the 2020 tennis season due to a knee injury. The 39-year-old won the U.S. Open five straight years from 2004 to 2008.

1) Rafael Nadal–Spain–At 34 years old it is no surprise that Rafael Nadal is more focused on winning his 13th French Open than his fifth U.S. Open. Still, Nadal is the defending U.S. Open champion and won a hard court tournament earlier this year in Mexico. If there was greater separation between the two grand slam events, you might have considered Nadal participate in both events.