The crowd of fans returns to the US Open, but anxiety still persists
The US Open Tennis Championship “Star Helmet” lights up the colors of the season, New York in the fall. A ripeness, a richness. The time when everything falls into place.
Yet there is a pause. A pregnant one. A hesitancy, an uncertainty.A time when masks more than the miles are the measure of distance travelled, even acting as signposts of where one is. Do you have to mask-up? Indoors, outdoors, in the subway, on the streets. There are announcements and there are silences.
As the dark clouds of Covid-19 continue to hover over the planet, people are more aware than ever of the person seated next to them and not entirely for the right reasons. It is a time when journeys are hard, immigrations counters are an exhibition of nervousness, where the test is in a result. And the victory lies in a negative twist.
From Bengaluru to New Delhi, to Newark, New Jersey and the Queens Borough of New York City the strain echoes. It’s deafening.
Then there are those stretches where the new normal succeeds. The Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre, the home of the year’s last Grand Slam, the four of which stand as pillars of the sport. The cobalt-blue courts, the bulwarks of navy and erratic streaks of purple paint. The mighty Arthur Ashe court, the more intimate backdrop of the Louis Armstrong stadium.
The setting itself is as is in the lead-up to a two-week concert, where everything is positioned, but not quite powered. There are no fans in the premises as yet and the players are walking around the grounds with a greater sense of ownership. Andrey Rublev drops his bags and addresses his phone, Alexander Zverev is all smiles while sporting a Germany tee, Donna Vekic, the 5 ft 10’ Croat hits her stride.
Women’s world No.1 Ashleigh Barty, the last of whose five titles came in Cincinnati, flaunted timing, the smile never leaving her face.
Coming from an Indian city which still has curfew even though the number of positive tests has been steadily diminishing, it’s heartening to see New Yorkers fighting back. Everyone except the odd is seen sporting a mask outdoors.
In keeping with the mood, the United States Tennis Association, which hadn’t previously asked for proof of vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test for fans to enter the facility, on Friday announced that proof of at least one vaccine shot would now be required for entrance to the grounds for all fans aged 12 and older. The jab before the ticket is the verdict.
