Dylan Alcott gets his way, with wheelchair tennis reinstated at US Open

Dylan Alcott’s savage spray at the US Open has had the desired effect, with organisers backflipping to reinstate wheelchair tennis

Wheelchair grand slam champion Dylan Alcott will play at the US Open after all

Dylan Alcott’s savage spray at the US Open has had the desired effect, with organisers backflipping to reinstate wheelchair tennis at this year’s coronavirus-compromised grand slam event.

The US Tennis Association’s announcement comes five days after the national governing body said it was rethinking the decision and could have better communicated with wheelchair athletes.

“The decision was made following multiple virtual meetings with a group of wheelchair athletes and the International Tennis Federation over the last week,” the USTA said in a statement.

“The 2020 US Open Wheelchair Competition will feature men’s and women’s singles and doubles and quad singles and doubles, with draw sizes similar to past US Opens.”

Australia’s 10-time wheelchair grand slam singles champion Alcott had led the player backlash against the decision not to include a wheelchair tournament, describing the exclusion as “disgusting discrimination”. He was delighted by the backflip.

“I was in tears (when the event was excluded),” two-time US Open champion Alcott said on Nine.

“It was just because it was so hard sometimes, growing up with a disability, where able-bodied people decide which restaurant you go in to, which school you go in to, which tennis tournaments you can play.

“It’s a huge turning point to show how supportive a community can be and from the bottom of my heart, I can’t say thanks enough.”

Meanwhile, 1000 fans will be allowed to watch a Berlin tennis tournament next month despite the controversy that has engulfed Novak Djokovic after his Balkans event left him and three other players testing positive for coronavirus.

There will be two events in the German capital — one outdoors at the Steffi Graf Stadium and one indoors at the city’s historic Tempelhof Airport.

“When we host the tournament in mid-July, there will be a strict hygiene concept that we will co-ordinate with the Berlin Senate,” tournament director and German Fed Cup skipper Barbara Rittner said.

“We will have around 1,000 spectators at the Steffi Graf stadium and around 300 in the hangar at Tempelhof.

“It will be important to carefully observe all regulations and to test the players beforehand. This is one of the requirements for these events.

“We will treat the situation and regulations very respectfully.”

Djokovic, Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki all tested positive for coronavirus after playing in the first two legs of Djokovic’s ill-fated Adria Tour in Belgrade and Croatia.

Djokovic’s wife Jelena also tested positive.

Around 4000 spectators watched the Belgrade event where there was no social distancing.

Players were also photographed shirtless, dancing the night away at a packed Belgrade club.

Australian firebrand Nick Kyrgios, as well as top-10 players Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev, who both featured in the Balkans, have been signed up to take part in Berlin.

Thiem and Zverev tested negative on the Adria Tour while Kyrgios described the staging of the event as “bone-headed”.

“Of course, regardless of the Adria Tour, we can also get a message at any time that a player has tested positive and cannot play,” added Rittner.

“We can only ensure that the strict requirements are adhered to as correctly as possible and ensure that further planning is not jeopardised.”

Rittner described Djokovic’s event as “an absolute catastrophe”.

“I don’t understand the world they live in. For some, their success has probably gone to their heads,” she said.

“The whole world keeps its distance and wears masks. Yet on the Adriatic Sea, people sat shoulder to shoulder without masks and partied at night.”

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