COVID-19: USTA Event Statements

2021 Event Cancellations - Feb. 23, 2021

For 2021, the following events will be cancelled and removed from the national schedule:

• Tennis on Campus Spring and Fall Invitationals and National Championships
• Boys and Girls 18 National Team Championships
• Boys and Girls 14 & 16 Intersectional Championships
• Boys and Girls 12, 14 & 16 Zonal Championships
• JTT National Championships
• EDC Camps

USTA Statement on Relocation of Easter Bowl - Feb. 12, 2021

Due to the situation surrounding COVID-19 and local government restrictions, the decision was made to move the 2021 adidas Easter Bowl to the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego. The tournament will be played on its scheduled dates. 

Per the ITF’s “Return to Tennis” guidelines, the Easter Bowl’s 18s draws will be reduced to 48 players. All other divisions will feature a 64-player draw.

In addition, the International Open of Southern California, a Grade 1 ITF junior event traditionally held in Carson, Calif., will also move to the Barnes Tennis Center the week prior to the Easter Bowl.

USTA Statement on Cancellation of National Winter Championships - Dec. 2, 2020

Due to the ongoing situation surrounding COVID-19, the USTA has canceled the USTA National Winter Championships, scheduled to take place December 28, 2020 – January 3, 2021 in Arizona and Florida.  The decision to cancel was made based upon the guiding principle of ensuring the health and safety of all those involved with the event and with the support of the USTA Medical Advisory Group.  In addition, recent CDC recommendations to limit interstate travel as well as the logistical challenges with differing quarantine and health regulations across states and regions were taken into consideration.

USTA Statement on National Indoor Championships - Oct. 8, 2020

The USTA has canceled the 2020 National Indoor Championships, set to be held at various locations around the country, Nov. 27-30.

The decision to cancel the events was made with the health and safety of all those involved at the forefront, and due to numerous challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. These included differing local government mandates and policies surrounding indoor building capacities, as well as mandatory quarantine periods due to interstate travel.

Junior and Adult Event Cancellations - Aug. 17, 2020

Due to the situation surrounding COVID-19, the USTA has canceled all National junior events through Oct. 12, as well as all adult Category 1 events, comprising the Adult, Open, Family and Age divisions, through the end of 2020. 

The decision to cancel was made to ensure the health and safety of all those involved, as the interstate travel required for these tournaments carries an increased risk. In addition, the different regulations, restrictions and quarantine periods, dependent upon the localities involved, both at the site of the event and in the participants’ home states, were considered. 

The safety of the actual tennis being played did not factor into the decision to cancel the events. In order to encourage local play opportunities that do not require extensive travel, junior and adult players will now be able to earn national rankings points at select Section-level events. 

Please see below for the complete list of the canceled events. Players are encouraged to contact their Sections to find more information on how these changes will impact local events. 

Juniors

• September National Level 3 (Sept. 12-14)
  
• Zimmerman/Johnson National Level 2 (Sept. 18-20)
• McKinney Texas Grade 5 ITF (Sept. 19-26)
• Corpus Christi Grade 4 ITF (Sept. 26-Oct. 3)
• Pan American Grade B1 ITF (Oct. 3-10)
• October National Level 2 (Oct. 10-12)
• Allstate Sugar Bowl Level 3 (Nov. 14-16)

Adult

• Maine Pines USTA National Men's 35 Indoor Championship (Date TBD), Brunswick, ME
• USTA National F-D, Senior, F-D, Super Senior, F-D, Ultra Senior F-D & Mother Son Indoor Championships (Date TBD), South Barrington, IL
• USTA National FS, Sr. FS, Super Sr. FS, and Ultra Sr FS Indoor Championships (Date TBD), Cherry Hill, NJ
• USTA National Men's 35 Hard Court Championships (Sept. 3), Surprise, AZ
• USTA National Husband Wife Open & Combo 100, 120 & 140 Hard Court Championships (Sept. 11), Peachtree City, GA
• USTA National Men, Women & Mixed 30s Hard Court Championship (Sept. 11), Kansas City, MO
• USTA National Men's 55 & 60 Grass Court Championships (Sept. 24), Rumford, RI
• USTA National Men's Open, Women's Open, Mixed Open Clay Court Championships (Sept. 26), Fort Lauderdale, FL
• USTA National Men's 50 Clay Court Championships (Oct. 4), Sarasota, FL
• USTA National Men's 70, 85 & 90 Clay Court Championships (Oct. 11), Pinehurst, NC
• USTA National Men's 75 & 80 Clay Court Championships (Oct. 19), Virginia Beach, VA
• USTA National Men's 40, 45, & Mixed 45 Clay Court Championships (Oct. 23), Fort Lauderdale, FL
• USTA National Men's 60 & 65 Clay Court Championships Sponsored by IberiaBank and Crabel Captial (Oct. 25), New Orleans, LA
• USTA National Women's 90 Grass Championships (Oct. 27), Rancho Mirage, CA
• USTA National Women's 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, 85 & 90 Hard Court Championships (Oct. 27), Rancho Mirage, CA
• USTA National Women's 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 Clay Court Championships (Oct. 27), Palm Beach Gardens, FL
• USTA National Men's 35 Clay Court Championships (Nov. 6), Midtown Athletic Club Club 61, Weston, FL
• USTA National Men's 55 Hard Court Championships (Nov. 6), Peachtree City, GA
• USTA National Men's 70 & 75 Indoor Championships (Nov. 9), Houston, TX
• USTA National Men's 45 Hard Court Championships (Nov. 11), Westlake Village, CA
• USTA National Senior, Super Senior & Ultra Senior Father-Son Clay Court Championships (Nov. 17), Sarasota, FL
• USTA National Men's, Women's & Mixed 30 & Women's 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, 85 Indoor Championships (Nov. 22), Lexington, KY
• USTA National M40, W40, MXD 40, Father-Son, Grandfather-Grandson Hard Court Championships (Nov. 30), La Jolla, CA
• USTA National Men, Women & Mixed 30s Clay Court Championships (Dec. 4), Fort Lauderdale, FL
• USTA National MD, Sr. MD, Super Sr. MD Indoor Championships (Dec. 9), Vancouver, WA
• USTA National Women's 40, 50, 70, 80 & 90 Indoor Championships (Dec. 9), Vancouver, WA
• USTA National Men's 60 & 70 Hard Court Championships (Dec. 12), Irvine, CA
• USTA National Men's Open, Women's Open, Mixed Open Indoor Championships (Dec. 26), Flushing, NY

Other

• The 2020 NTRP Adult National Tournament has been moved to April 2021.
• There are no wheelchair national tournaments for the remainder of the year.

USTA Pro Circuit Event Cancellations - Aug. 13, 2020

Due to the ongoing situation surrounding COVID-19, the USTA has canceled all ITF World Tennis Tour and ATP Challenger events taking place in the U.S. in September. This decision was made to ensure the health and safety of all those involved with these events. Although detailed health and safety protocols had been planned, without the creation of a controlled environment that includes a comprehensive and contained lodging, transportation, food and beverage, and medical testing program in place, as will be the case for the Western & Southern Open and US Open, proper risk mitigation would not be possible—and in the case of these events, this type of environment would logistically and financially be difficult to create.

The events include:

• Week of Sept. 14
  • Cary, N.C. – ATP Challenger 80
  • Champaign, Ill. – M15

• Week of Sept. 21
  • Columbus, Ohio – ATP Challenger 80
  • Fayetteville, Ark. – M15
  • Lubbock, Texas – W15
     

Orlando Event Cancellations - July 27, 2020
 

Due to the situation surrounding COVID-19, the USTA has made the decision to cancel the Orlando Open presented by Nemours 1, scheduled to be held Aug. 22-29, and the Orlando Open presented by Nemours 2, scheduled to be held Aug. 29-Sept. 6, both at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. The decision to cancel these two ATP Challenger 150 events was made with input from the USTA Medical Advisory Group, to ensure the health and safety of all those involved with these tournaments. Although detailed health and safety protocols had been planned, without the creation of a controlled environment that includes a comprehensive and contained lodging, transportation, food and beverage, and medical testing program in place, as will be the case for the Western & Southern Open and US Open, proper risk mitigation would not be possible—and in the case of these events, this type of environment would logistically and financially be difficult to create. As the health and safety for all those involved is the greatest concern of the USTA, these factors, coupled with the current rates of COVID-19 in Florida, were key in driving the decision making process.
 

USTA Statement on Event Cancellations - July 14, 2020

Due to the situation surrounding COVID-19, the USTA has canceled a number of National level events scheduled to be held in August. The decision to cancel was made with guidance from the USTA Medical Advisory Group, to ensure the health and safety of all those involved with these tournaments. As these events were larger in scale and size, there was an inherent risk associated with hosting large numbers of individuals at one site, at one time, and would make risk mitigation difficult. Without a controlled environment that includes a comprehensive and contained lodging, transportation, food and beverage, and medical testing program in place, proper risk mitigation would not be possible—and in the case of these events, this type of environment would logistically and financially be incredibly difficult to create. In addition, as these are National level events, many of those competing would have to travel interstate, bringing into play different regulations, restrictions and quarantine periods, dependent upon the localities involved, both at the site of the event and in the participants’ home states. The uncertainty surrounding the number of COVID-19 cases in the states of the host sites was also considered.

The safety of the actual tennis being played was not a concern of the USTA Medical Advisory Group, and did not factor into the decision to cancel the events. The USTA has previously issued a set of recommendations as to how tennis can be played in a safe manner, which can be found HERE for players and HERE for facilities.

The following events have been canceled:

Juniors

• USTA National Championships
  • Boys’ 18s
    • Aug. 7-15 – USTA National Campus (Orlando, Fla.)
  • Girls’ 18s
    • Aug. 7-15 – George Barnes Family Tennis Center (San Diego)
  • Boys’ 16s
    • Aug. 7-15 – Rome Tennis Center at Berry College (Rome, Ga.)
  • Girls’ 16s
    • Aug. 7-15 – Mobile Tennis Center (Mobile, Ala.)
• USTA National Doubles Championships
  • Boys’ and Girls’ 18s – 12s
    • Aug. 28-30 – USTA National Campus (Orlando, Fla.)

Adults

• Men's 65 USTA National Indoor Championships

o Aug. 10-15 – LifeTime Eden Prairie Athletic (Eden Prairie, Minn.)

• Men's and Women's Open USTA National Grass Court Championships

o Aug. 10-16 – International Tennis Hall of Fame (Newport, R.I.)

• Men's 75 & 80 and Mother/Son USTA National Grass Court Championships

o Aug. 13-16 – Agawam Hunt Country Club (Rumford, R.I.)

ITF World Tennis Tour Cancellations - July 6, 2020
 

Due to the ongoing situation surrounding COVID-19, the USTA has canceled all five ITF World Tennis Tour events taking place in the U.S. in August. This decision was made to ensure the health and safety of all those involved with these events. The events include:

- Week of Aug. 3

• Lexington, Ky. – Women’s Event

- Week of Aug. 10

• Landisville, Pa. – Women’s Event

- Week of Aug. 17

• Concord, Mass. – Women’s Event
• Decatur, Ill. – Men’s Event
• Memphis, Tenn. – Men’s Event

Update on Suspension of Play and Event Changes - June 4, 2020

The USTA recognizes that the coronavirus has been affecting different parts of the country in different ways and with different timing. Because of that, it will be possible for people to return to playing tennis safely in some cities and states sooner than in others.

At present, stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders have been lifted or modified in some communities, and some are phasing tennis back in as a safe, or in certain cases, an “essential,” activity.

Beginning June 1, the suspension of USTA Sanctioned products and events noted below will now be at the discretion of the USTA Sections and local health authorities. These USTA Sanctioned products and events include:

• Adult and Junior Tournaments

• USTA League

• USTA Junior Team Tennis

• USTA Social Leagues

• Team Challenge

• Team Tournaments

• USTA School Programs

• Tennis on Campus

• Wheelchair Tennis

The safety and well-being of all players and event personnel remains the first and foremost consideration of the USTA. All players should check their USTA Section homepage to determine when these USTA Sanctioned products and events will resume and under what conditions. In all cases, the USTA highly recommends that all players and facilities adhere to the “Playing Tennis Safely” guidelines, as well as all local health and safety regulations when returning to play.

Please note the additional national suspensions below that are still in effect across the country: 

All Category 1 and Super Category 2 National Adult Tournaments with an ITF status, all ITF Junior events, all Adults Category 2 and Category 3 tournaments, all Wheelchair L1 - L3 events, and all USTA Pro Circuit events will align with the same calendar as the ITF and be suspended through July 31. The ATP has also suspended events through July 31, while the WTA has suspended select events in July. In addition, the USTA has made the decision, separately, to cancel the 2020 National Clay Court Championships scheduled for July 11-19, and which would have taken place in seven cities across three states.

“The impact of COVID-19 has been felt across the tennis landscape, and it is our goal to ensure that the sport is able to be played in a safe and healthy fashion at the parks and facilities throughout the country once the pandemic subsides,” said Patrick Galbraith, Chairman of the Board and President, USTA. “One of the greatest aspects of this game is that it fosters a true community, and we look forward to the time when we can return to our local courts and use tennis to unite us all, once again.”  

The determination has also been made to suspend the calculation and publication of the National Standings List (NSL) for Adult, Junior and Wheelchair play until further notice. The NSL published on March 18 will serve as the most current until tournament competition resumes.

In addition, to ensure that play taking place at local facilities will be the focus once the pandemic subsides, the following events will be canceled for 2020: 
 

• USTA League National Championships

• USTA Junior Team Tennis National Championships

• USTA Junior Intersectional Team Championships
• USTA Zone Team Championships

• USTA National Team Championships
 

For more information on the cancellation of the USTA League National Championships and USTA Junior Team Tennis National Championships, please visit the FAQ.

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., is currently closed to the public. The facility’s Indoor Tennis Center was converted to a temporary hospital for COVID-19 patients, while Louis Armstrong Stadium was utilized as a commissary to facilitate the creation of meal packages that were distributed to patients, workers and New York City school children. 

The USTA National Campus, located in the Lake Nona District of Orlando, Fla., will reopen to the public on June 8 following a comprehensive and systematic readiness assessment and sanitization process.

Any patron who wishes to cancel participation in a scheduled activity should contact the specific location for refund information. These policies will be in effect pending additional guidance or directives from each local governmental agency and the CDC. The USTA will continue to monitor and assess conditions to make future determinations about all activities at these facilities.

* The USTA Medical Advisory Committee includes: Dr. Brian Hainline, Chief Medical Officer of the NCAA and USTA Board Member; Dr. Brian Daniels, MD, Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando, Fla., and Medical Director, US Open; Dr. Mark Kovacs, Senior Director of Sports Science and Health, Cleveland Cavaliers; Dr. Bernard Camins, Medical Director for Infection Prevention at Mt. Sinai; Mike Rodriguez, USTA Senior Director and US Open Security.
 

Playing Tennis Safely: Guidelines for Players and Facilities - April 22, 2020

The USTA recognizes that the coronavirus has been affecting different parts of the country in different ways and with different timing. We therefore believe it will be possible for people to return to playing tennis safely in some cities and states sooner than others.  

The USTA has created two "Playing Tennis Safely" documents, one geared to players and one geared to tennis facilities, that have been developed by the USTA in conjunction with its Medical Advisory Group and its Industry partners. These documents provide extensive guidelines for the safe return to the courts. 

By following these guidelines as well as those of local governments and health agencies, facilities and players will be able to make informed decisions as to when play can recommence.

Click here for Player Tips and Recommendations

Click here for Facility and Programming Recommendations