Nick Kyrgios Calls It 'Selfish' to Proceed with U.S. Open: 'I'll Get My Hazmat Suit Ready'

The United States Tennis Association announced its decision to go ahead with the tournament on Monday

Published on June 16, 2020 02:47 PM

Nick Kyrgios is criticizing the United States Tennis Association for proceeding with this year's U.S. Open, scheduled to take place from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13.

On Tuesday, the organization announced its decision to go ahead with the tournament amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo confirming it will be held without fans.

The Australian tennis star called the move "selfish."

"People that live in the US of course are pushing the Open to go ahead," Kyrgios wrote on Twitter, adding a face-palm emoji. "‘Selfish’ I’ll get my hazmat suit ready for when I travel from Australia and then have to quarantine for 2 weeks on my return."

Prior to the confirmation, Kyrgios slammed the ATP last week for even considering continuing with the tournament, once again saying it was "selfish with everything going on at the moment."

"Obviously Covid, but also with the riots, together we need to overcome these challenges before tennis returns in my opinion," he wrote.

He then retweeted a post from fellow Australian tennis star John Millman that read: "I love the US Open but it seems a little crazy that we’re still contemplating playing a grand slam there, right?"

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Kyrgios and Millman aren't the only players to voice their concerns over the tournament. Men's No. 1 player Novak Djokovic recently told a Serbian television station that many players felt "quite negative" about playing the U.S. Open in August, according to USA Today.

Rafael Nadal also called it "not an ideal situation" when speaking to journalists earlier this month,

"If you ask me today if I want to travel today to New York to play a tennis tournament, I will say no, I will not," the No. 2 player said, according to Essentially Sports. "In a couple of months, I don’t know how the situation is going to improve."

"Hopefully, it’s going to improve the right way, and I’m sure the people who organize the event, the U.S.T.A., want a safe event, same as the French federation,” he continued.

The ATP tour as a whole is currently postponed until the end of July. The French Open has been postponed to September 20, while organizers decided to cancel Wimbledon.

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