Nick Kyrgios brands US Open organisers as ‘selfish’ for going ahead

The Australian is upset at the Grand Slam going ahead on the original dates

The Australian is upset at the USTA for going ahead as planned with the US Open (AP)

Nick Kyrgios has labelled the United States Tennis Association as “selfish” for pushing ahead with this year’s U.S. Open.

The Grand Slam is set to go ahead as planned on the original 31 August start date.

New York has been the epicentre of the pandemic in the United States, with more than 30,000 deaths in the city alone with almost 70,000 recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

And despite hundreds of new Covid-19 cases every day, the USTA appears set to allow the tournament to play out without fans, leading to Novak Djokovic, Ash Barty and Simona Halep all expressing concerns about playing the tournament under the health protocols.

Kyrgios has spent the last few months in lockdown in Australia and took to social media to express his dissatisfaction with the iconic event in Flushing Meadows going ahead.

“People that live in the U.S. of course are pushing (for) the Open to go ahead ‘Selfish’,” said the wolrd No 40.

“I’ll get my hazmat suit ready for when I travel from Australia and then have to quarantine for two weeks on my return.”

Kyrgios also slammed the ATP Tour as selfish earlier this month for pressing ahead with plans to play the U.S. Open while the virus had not been contained and with the streets of U.S. cities filled with protests at the death of George Floyd.

The 25-year-old also tweeted Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal last week to ask them if they felt the tournament should go ahead. He received no public replies from any of the multiple Grand Slam winners.

Despite the health concerns, American player Danielle Collins has called on the event to go ahead to give players the chance to earn money again and criticised Djokovic for his opposition to the protocols proposed by organisers.

“It’s easy when someone’s made $150 million throughout their career to try and tell people what to do with their money, and then turn down playing in the U.S. Open,” she posted on social media last week.

Reuters contributed to this report