U.S. Open announces fans 12 years or older required to show proof of vaccination to attend
Record ID:
1633944
U.S. Open announces fans 12 years or older required to show proof of vaccination to attend
- Title: U.S. Open announces fans 12 years or older required to show proof of vaccination to attend
- Date: 28th August 2021
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - AUGUST 27, 2018) (REUTERS) WIDE OF ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM AT USTA BILLIE JEAN KING NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER DURING 2018 U.S. OPEN VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING ON GROUNDS U.S. OPEN SIGN PEOPLE WAITING IN LINE TO ENTER TENNIS CENTER GROUNDS
- Embargoed: 11th September 2021 01:15
- Keywords: Covid-19 US Open USTA fans tennis vaccine
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / INTERNET
- City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / INTERNET
- Country: USA
- Topics: Sport,Tennis,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA002ES246KF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Tennis fans 12 years or older will be required to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine in order to attend the U.S. Open, tournament officials announced Friday (August 27), just three days before the main draw was set to begin.
The New York City mayor's office on Friday mandated proof of vaccine to enter Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the major puts on its primetime matches, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) said.
The USTA then elected to extend the vaccine requirement to all attendees 12 years old or older at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, regardless of which facilities ticketholders plan to access.
"Any U.S. Open attendee with tickets to Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, the Grandstand, or the grounds of the U.S. Open, will be required to provide proof of at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine," the USTA said in a written statement.
It was not immediately clear whether the mandate would impact players, as some have expressed reluctance to receive the shot.
World number three Stefanos Tsitsipas said earlier this month he would only get the COVID-19 vaccine if it became mandatory to compete in tennis.
The announcement marked an abrupt change for the U.S. Open, the crown jewel of the American tennis calendar and the year's final major, which previously said it would rely on unvaccinated fans to wear masks.
The tournament operated without fans in 2020.
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