Serena Williams is extremely focussed on winning her 24th slam at the upcoming US Open and it seems that her chances are helped with reduced competition. The world no.1 Ashleigh Barty becomes the first top player to officially renounce to play he American slam for because of the Coronavirus. Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu, and Elina Svitolina may also skip the US Open.
Ashleigh Barty’s statement
The Australian is unsure about her schedule even regarding the French Open where she is the defending champion. Barty released the following statement:
“My team and I have decided that we won’t be traveling to the US for the Western and Southern Open and the US Open this year. I love both events so it was a difficult decision but there are still significant risks involved due to Covid 19 and I don’t feel comfortable putting my team and in that position.
I wish the USTA all the best for the tournaments and look forward to being back in the US next year.
I will make my decision on the French Open and the surrounding WTA European tournaments in the coming weeks.”
Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu not playing the US Open
Unfortunately, also Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu are not yet part of the entry lists of the Western & Southern Open and the US Open. This comes as a big surprise as both live in North America and they had great memories about the slam as Osaka won it in 2018 and Andreescu is the defending champion.
The Statement from the US Open
Stacey Allaster, the U.S. Open tournament director, has been extremely active in making the tournament happen. She released the following statement:
“I respect every player’s decision. Ash made her decision on what she thinks is best for her and her team. We wish her well, and I am looking forward to seeing her return to play as she is a fan favorite.”
Ashleigh Barty in 2020
At the moment ranked no.1, Ashleigh played her last match on the 28th of February when she surrendered to Petra Kvitova 6-4 2-6 6-4 in the semifinal in Doha.
During this season Ashleigh has a 11-3 win-loss record. The Australian conquered 1 title in Adelaide.
Serena Williams in 2020
Ranked no.9, Serena played her last match on the 8th of February when she capitulated to Anastasija Sevastova 7-65 3-6 7-64 in the Rubber 4 of the Fed Cup.
At the moment, this season Serena Williams has a 8-2 win-loss record. Serena Williams has won 1 title in Auckland.
Ashleigh Barty and Serena Williams played each other twice. The head to head is 2-0 for Williams. The last time that they fought against each other, Serena Williams won 3-6 6-3 6-4 in the 2nd round in Paris (French Open) in May 2018.
Naomi Osaka in 2020
Ranked world no.10, Osaka played her last match on the 7th of February when she was defeated by Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-0 6-3 in the Rubber 1 of the Fed Cup.
Naomi Osaka’s most significant result of this year was getting to the semi-finals in Brisbane.
Bianca Vanessa Andreescu in 2020
At the moment ranked no.6, the Canadian played her last match on the 30th of October 2019 when she had to retire when playing against Karolina Pliskova in the round robin and the scoreline was 6-3 .
Naomi Osaka and Bianca Vanessa Andreescu played each other once. The head to head is 1-0 for Osaka. When they played, Naomi Osaka won 5-7 6-3 6-4 in the quarter in Beijing (China Open) in October 2019.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
Ashleigh Barty, Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Bianca Vanessa Andreescu |
| Embed from Getty Images |
