Women’s world number five Elina Svitolina and Kiki Bertens, ranked seventh, on Friday joined a growing list of players withdrawing from this month’s US Open due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I understand and respect all the efforts they are putting to make it happen in a safe environment, but I still don’t feel comfortable to travel to US without putting my team and myself at high risk,” Ukrainian Svitolina, who reached last year’s semi-finals in New York, said on Twitter.
The United States has close to 5 million cases of Covid-19 and almost 160,000 people have died.
“The situation around Covid-19 is still worrying and the health of everyone and the control over this virus is priority,” said the 28-year-old Bertens on Instagram.
The US Open organisers are creating a bio-secure bubble in New York to hold the tournament from August 31 without spectators. But concerns remain about whether players would face mandatory quarantines upon returning home from the US Open.
“Our prime minister indicated yesterday that we should be quarantined for 14 days after coming back from the States,” Bertens said.
“Of course we respect this as a team and this would disturb our preparation for my beloved clay court tournaments in Rome and Paris.”