Nick Kyrgios: 'Selfish' to Proceed with U.S. Open

Nick Kyrgios said organizers of the U.S. Open are "selfish" for pushing forward with a plan to hold the tournament as scheduled beginning in late August. 

The world No. 40 made the comment in a tweet on Monday night, before New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the tournament would go ahead as scheduled without spectators.

Kyrgios criticized the move to hold the tournament amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 2 million Americans and killed more than 116,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins.

"People that live in the US of course are pushing the Open to go ahead," Kyrgios wrote on his Twitter account, adding a face-palm emoji. "I’ll get my hazmat suit ready for when I travel from Australia and then have to quarantine for 2 weeks on my return."

Cuomo announced Tuesday that the tournament would be held from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13 in Queens, N.Y., as scheduled. 

"The USTA will take extraordinary precautions to protect players and staff, including robust testing, additional cleaning, extra locker room space, and dedicated housing & transportation," Cuomo said in a tweet. 

In the United States, New York has been the city most impacted by COVID-19, with 383,944 confirmed cases and 30,856 reported deaths. The daily toll of new cases and deaths has declined in recent weeks, however. 

Earlier this month, Kyrgios called the ATP Tour “selfish,” arguing it was wrong to push forward with plans to stage the U.S. Open even as the U.S. grappled with the coronavirus pandemic and widespread protests following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in police custody after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds.

Other players, including defending champion Rafael Nadal and Kyrgios's fellow Australian Ash Barty, have expressed concern over participating in the event. American Danielle Collins, the world No. 51, believes the tournament should go ahead.

"No one has been able to play sanctioned events or make money since February," she posted on her Instagram story. "Here we have an awesome opportunity with the US Open talking about proceeding forward with the event, with some strict safety precautions to make sure all players feel safe and their health is put first."