US Open hotel is 'hosting weddings and parties' despite coronavirus bubble
Cracks are beginning to appear in the United States Tennis Association’s supposedly bio-secure bubble in New York, as it emerged that the second official player hotel in Long Island is far from being as well defended as the first.
In an interview with Advantage Podcast, the German doubles player Tim Puetz said that this second hotel is even hosting weddings and parties, while there is no security to stop players going out if they wish. While acknowledging the cost and difficulty of the whole operation, he suggested that the USTA should have been more candid with the players in advance.
Puetz was calm but highly specific in his interview. “The USTA has a case to answer,” he said, “because they never communicated that we players in the second hotel were not in a bubble – not at all. The other hotel with the other 90 per cent of players is different. It is completely booked by the USTA and there is security at every entrance. But that was not the case in the second hotel.
“You can leave the hotel, theoretically. They just booked several floors for the US Open players. But there were normal hotel guests. Downstairs there were separate places for us. But there were points of contact, for example when you entered the hotel at the same time as normal guests. Then we shared the elevator. Also cooks, security, drivers – they all went home after work to their families in the evening. This was not communicated to us.”
He went on to claim that the hotel had hosted wedding and parties, though there is no suggestion that these events breached guidelines.
“This was not well communicated by the USTA, although I believe they did a great job,” continued Puetz. “There is no chance of a 100 per cent bubble in terms of a big enough hotel or budget. And this event is probably safer than all the other tournaments in 2020. But if the USTA would have communicated that this is no 100 per cent bubble then fewer people would be angry now.
“Many players are angry. Because they were also not informed that the player badges were being used as GPS trackers. The staff just all the time said ‘Please wear it.’
“They also did not tell us that it could be a problem for us if we ate in the players’ restaurant with one other person. But in the restaurant there were two chairs at every table. So of course two people ate together all the time until the physio of [Hugo] Dellien and [Guido] Pella got positive.
“Then they told us that Dellien and Pella had to leave [dropping out of the player field for last week’s Western & Southern Open] because he ate with them – of course without a mask. They should have told us before. And now it seems like the 11 players [who have been put on a stricter protocol after spending time with Covid-positive French player Benoit Paire] can stay to compete because through the GPS scanner the USTA could confirm that none of them was eating with Paire. And when they played cards they wore masks.”
In response to Puetz's comments, a USTA spokesman said, "We have consistently communicated all aspects of the US Open health and safety protocols and guidelines with both tours and often with players directly. Within the USTA's overall controlled environment is a dedicated environment for the Garden City Hotel. We are comfortable with the protocols we have in place as long as all Tier One individuals strictly adhere to those protocols.
Top British players Andy Murray and Dan Evans are among those who have commended the USTA for their handling of the bubble. But questions about the reality of the situation are beginning to mount up.
Paire himself was removed from the US Open draw when his test came back positive on Sunday. On Monday night, he posted an opaque but clearly dissatisfied message on social media saying: “I’m fine for now I have no symptoms… I hesitate to tell what is really going on in this Fake Bubble."
