USTA Tennessee Coronavirus Updates
- Kim Wilson
- May 26, 2020
- 12 min read
Please find the below letters that were sent to update the state membership on the status of USTA programs in Tennessee (as of 6/9/2020)
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USTA Statement issued 5/26/20
The USTA recognizes that the coronavirus has been affecting different parts of the country in different ways and with different timing. Because of that, it will be possible for people to return to playing tennis safely in some cities and states sooner than in others.
At present, stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders have been lifted or modified in some communities, and some are phasing tennis back in as a safe, or in certain cases, an “essential,” activity. Beginning June 1, the suspension of USTA Sanctioned products and events noted below will now be at the discretion of the USTA Sections and local health authorities. These USTA Sanctioned products and events include:
Adult and Junior Tournaments
USTA League
USTA Junior Team Tennis
USTA Social Leagues
Team Challenge
Team Tournaments
USTA School Programs
Tennis on Campus
Wheelchair Tennis
The safety and well-being of all players and event personnel remains the first and foremost consideration of the USTA. All players should check their USTA Section homepage to determine when these USTA Sanctioned products and events will resume and under what conditions. In all cases, the USTA highly recommends that all players and facilities adhere to the “Playing Tennis Safely” guidelines, as well as all local health and safety regulations when returning to play.
Please note the additional national suspensions below that are still in effect across the country:All Category 1 and Super Category 2 National Adult Tournaments with an ITF status, all ITF Junior events, all Adults Category 2 and Category 3 tournaments, all Wheelchair L1 – L3 events, and all USTA Pro Circuit events will align with the same calendar as the ITF and be suspended through July 31. The ATP has also suspended events through July 31, while the WTA has suspended select events in July. In addition, the USTA has made the decision, separately, to cancel the 2020 National Clay Court Championships scheduled for July 11-19, and which would have taken place in seven cities across three states.
“The impact of COVID-19 has been felt across the tennis landscape, and it is our goal to ensure that the sport is able to be played in a safe and healthy fashion at the parks and facilities throughout the country once the pandemic subsides,” said Patrick Galbraith, Chairman of the Board and President, USTA. “One of the greatest aspects of this game is that it fosters a true community, and we look forward to the time when we can return to our local courts and use tennis to unite us all, once again.”
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USTA Press Release 4/16/20
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., April 16, 2020 – The USTA today announced a comprehensive suite of programs to support the tennis industry, which is battling the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This announcement is the second phase of ongoing efforts that the USTA is developing in concert with the American tennis industry. The overarching goal of these efforts is to provide immediate relief, spur the industry’s recovery, and help the industry rebuild when the crisis passes.
On March 23, the USTA announced the creation of Tennis Industry United, a collaboration of the USTA, TIA, USPTA, PTR, ITA, major endemic media partners and others, that is assessing overall industry needs and making recommendations for those industry sectors that need immediate relief. The initial goal of the first phase was to provide help for the front lines of the sport including tennis facilities, tennis professionals, grassroots tennis programs and the hundreds of tournaments, college and high school matches, and league matches cancelled or suspended since the onset of the pandemic. On March 26, through the collaborative efforts of the Tennis Industry United partnership group, the USTA published the industry resource guide at http://www.tennisindustryunited.com. This resource guide is continually updated to provide the most current information regarding governmental assistance and other resources available to those in the industry.
“We recognized helping tennis facilities, community tennis programs, and teaching professionals navigate the multitude of government grants and loans was of immediate importance,” said Mike Dowse, CEO and Executive Director of the USTA. “The foundation of our sport begins with these stakeholders and we need to ensure they can weather the storm and remain viable as the storm recedes. This is all about ‘relief, recovery and rebuild’ for our industry.”
For the second phase of support, the USTA, along with its partners, will begin offering specific economic assistance packages, increased support to navigate government assistance for facilities and coaches, access to industry leaders, daily educational webinars and in-themoment phone support to help individuals emotionally impacted from COVID-19. The extent of this future support will be determined by the financial performance of the 2020 US Open and the impact that the current pandemic has on the event. The USTA’s plans to stage the tournament remain ongoing, and all decisions regarding the US Open will be guided by federal and local governmental agencies and the health and safety of the players, fans, partners, and the broader tennis community.
Nevertheless, the USTA is taking immediate actions to cut costs for the eventual deployment of financial resources to support the tennis industry in the U.S. Immediate first steps include identifying more than $20 million in savings by instituting salary reductions of USTA management, eliminating programs in marketing, Player Development and operations, and deferring all non-essential capital projects.
The following outlines a summary of the support and assistance currently provided or now in development to assist the U.S. tennis industry:
USTA Facility Grants: USTA facility grants are being developed to support facilities in need of financial support to reopen. This funding, expected to reach more than $5 million in total, will come from both USTA National and the USTA Sectional offices. Funding criteria, award levels, and the application process are being finalized and will be available on or before May 1.
Certified Tennis Professional Membership Grants: The USTA is working with the USPTA and PTR to ensure that certified tennis professionals are able to renew their annual membership dues moving into 2021. This will allow these critical tennis providers to maintain their liability insurance, be Safe Play compliant, and continue to have access to educational opportunities. The organizations will be collaborating on this plan over the coming weeks. Grants are expected to exceed $2.5 million.
The USTA Foundation will provide $5 million in operating grants to grassroots tennis and education organizations supporting underserved communities through the National Junior Tennis and Learning network.
Access to legal expertise with links to identify and claim government support through the CARES Act at http://www.tennisindustryunited.com.
The hosting of all tennis offerings from key organizations within the tennis industry on one central site to enable ease of access of key offerings available at http://www.tennisindustryunited.com.
FREE access to online continuing professional development for facility owners and
managers and tennis professionals at http://www.tennisindustryunited.com.
FREE phone support to help the tennis industry cope with the emotional impact of COVID-19 through the USTA’s health provider, Aetna. Those needing to utilize this service can call 1-833-327-AETNA and reference the USTA.
A dedicated email address, covidsupport@usta.com, has been created for those in the industry to submit specific queries regarding available COVID-19 support.
Daily updates and guidance by leading experts will be made available on http://www.tennisindustryunited.com that will give specific information about key steps to take to navigate the pandemic.
The USTA will provide a free website builder tool with marketing and content resources that allows turnkey solutions for communication tools for facilities and pros.
The USTA National office has recommitted as its top priority the continuation of the “grow the game” funding commitments of $35 million to community tennis programming in 2020 and 2021. These funds are distributed through the 17 USTA Sections to get the money closer to grassroots decision-makers and fund grassroots tennis programs at parks, schools, NJTLs, and a variety of other local efforts. Tennis providers are encouraged to connect with their local USTA offices to explore Section, District and State offerings.
The above equates to a commitment of more than $50 million in spending towards grassroots tennis and will engage the entire U.S. tennis ecosystem.
“With phase one and phase two, the priority has been to start the process of ensuring that the foundation of our sport remains in place and is viable in the future,” added Dowse. “We now quickly are taking a look at the broader tennis ecosystem and are working with our colleagues within the Grand Slams, the ITF, the ATP and the WTA Tour to determine how to provide help for lower-ranked professional tennis players who are facing tournament cancellations andfinancial hardship.”
In the coming weeks, the USTA and its industry partners, will continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. tennis marketplace. Moving forward, the USTA will continue to aggregate all industry resources to aid in recovery while collaborating with all industry partners to develop and deliver programs to help rebuild tennis in the United States.
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Letter to USTA Tennessee Membership
Dear USTA Tennessee Community,
Sports has a unique power to bridge what too often separates us: age, language, backgrounds – and, of course, distance.
From videos of Italians playing tennis from their balconies, to the GOAT practicing on his backboard in Switzerland, to families at home around the US participating in Tennis at Home activities, we are inspired by daily reminders of how sports and tennis are providing essential connection during this difficult time.
With USTA play postponed at least through May 3rd, most of the affected leagues and events are postponed, plus a few tournament cancellations. The USTA Tennessee staff is busy brainstorming Plans A, B, C (and even D!) to help plan for and accommodate the day, hopefully soon, that we will all be on the courts again.
While we do this essential work, we also are thinking about you and our extended USTA family of players, teaching pros, NJTL leaders, PE teachers, students, facilities, community partners, and volunteers. We look forward to welcoming all of you back onto local courts and into programs, leagues, and tournaments as soon as we can safely resume operations.
In the meantime, we’re in our ready position and creating new ways to invite you inside USTA TN programs or to serve our community remotely. There is more on that to come, but you might start by following USTA TN on Facebook and Instagram to see how we’re playing at home and finding ways to connect with you via the LOVE of the game.
This is truly an exceptional time. So much has unimaginably happened in recent weeks in all of our worlds. But while there is uncertainty, we can be certain that USTA TN and our community will get through this together. More than anything, we want to thank you for your support because sports and tennis are important to our lives…they unite and inspire us in the best way during the most challenging times.
We promise to be here for our community… just as you are here for us. There are many great things to come!
Together in Tennis,
USTA Tennessee Staff
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Update on Suspension of Play and Event Changes – April 13, 2020
Due to the continued situation surrounding the COVID-19 virus, and after discussions with the USTA Medical Advisory Committee*, effective immediately the USTA will extend the suspension of USTA sanctioned products and events through May 31. This includes:
• Adult and Junior Tournaments• USTA League• USTA Junior Team Tennis• USTA Social Leagues• Team Challenge• Team Tournaments• USTA Schools programs• Tennis on Campus• Wheelchair events
Additionally, recognizing the evolving and fast-changing nature of this situation, the USTA will continue to monitor and assess conditions to make future determinations about events and activities taking place after May 31.
All Category 1 and Super Category 2 National Adult Tournaments with an ITF status, all ITF Junior events, all Junior, Adult and Wheelchair L1 – L3 events, and all USTA Pro Circuit and professional events will align with the same calendar as the ITF, ATP and WTA, and be suspended through July 12. The National Clay Court Championships, slated to begin on July 11, will proceed as scheduled, at this time.
“The impact of COVID-19 has been felt across the tennis landscape, and it is our goal to ensure that the sport is able to be played in a safe and healthy fashion at the parks and facilities throughout the country once the pandemic subsides,” said Patrick Galbraith, Chairman of the Board and President, USTA. “One of the greatest aspects of this game is that it fosters a true community, and we look forward to the time when we can return to our local courts and use tennis to unite us all, once again.”
The determination has also been made to suspend the calculation and publication of the National Standings List (NSL) for Adult, Junior and Wheelchair play until further notice. The NSL published on March 18 will serve as the most current until tournament competition resumes.
In addition, to ensure that play taking place at local facilities will be the focus once the pandemic subsides, the following events will be canceled for 2020:
• USTA League National Championships
• USTA Junior Team Tennis National Championships
• USTA Junior Intersectional Team Championships
The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., is currently closed to the public. The facility’s Indoor Tennis Center has been converted to a temporary hospital for COVID-19 patients, while Louis Armstrong Stadium is being utilized as a commissary to facilitate the creation of meal packages that are being distributed to patients, workers and New York City school children.
The USTA National Campus, in the Lake Nona area of Orlando, Fla., will remain closed for play and instructional opportunities through May 31.
Any patron who wishes to cancel participation in a scheduled activity should contact the specific location for refund information. These policies will be in effect pending additional guidance or directives from each local governmental agency and the CDC. The USTA will continue to monitor and assess conditions to make future determinations about all activities at these facilities.
* The USTA Medical Advisory Committee includes: Dr. Brian Hainline, Chief Medical Officer of the NCAA and USTA Board Member; Dr. Brian Daniels, MD, Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, Fla., and Medical Director, US Open; Dr. Mark Kovacs, Senior Director of Sports Science and Health, Cleveland Cavaliers; Dr. Bernard Camins, Medical Director for Infection Prevention at Mt. Sinai; Mike Rodriguez, USTA Senior Director and US Open Security.
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USTA Statement of Play on 4/3/20
USTA Statement on Safety of Playing Tennis During the Covid-19 Virus Pandemic
The COVID 19 pandemic is creating challenges for everyone across the globe. American tennis players are asking for guidance regarding the safety of playing tennis, especially when social distancing and space sharing issues are now paramount.
Based on the recommendations of the USTA COVID-19 Advisory Group, the USTA believes that it is in the best interest of society to take a collective pause from playingthe sport we love.
Although there are no specific studies on tennis and COVID-19, medical advisors believe there is the possibility that the virus responsible for COVID-19 could be transmitted through common sharing and handling of tennis balls, gate handles, benches, net posts, and even court surfaces.
As a result of this, the USTA asks that as tennis players we need to be patient in our return to the courts and consider how our decisions will not only affect ourselves, but how our decisions can impact our broader communities. In the meantime, we encourage everyone to stay active and healthy with at home exercise and creative “tennis at home” variations.
We look forward to our return to tennis in a safe manner and will provide updates as new information becomes available. By practicing all the recommended guidelines presently put forth by our medical experts, that return will happen in the soonest possible timeframe.
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As of 2:00pm CDT on 3/23/20
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the USTA has decided to suspend ALL USTA-sanctioned events through May 3rd. This suspension includes Adult and Junior Tournaments, USTA League, Junior Team Tennis, Team Challenge, Team Tournaments, USTA Schools programs, Tennis on Campus, and Wheelchair events. At all times, we must put the health and safety of all our members at the forefront of our decision-making. We will continue to update our membership as often as possible on this evolving situation. Thank you for your understanding and patience during these challenging times.
All The Best,
USTA Tennessee
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General InformationIf any individual has any of the symptoms (including but not limited to runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, fever, lower respiratory symptoms), please stay home, do not play tennis, and seek medical guidance. If you choose to play, we encourage substituting a racket touch or elbow bump in lieu of the traditional post-match handshake.
We encourage everyone to use the following practices, similar to protecting yourselves and others from a cold and flu:
Sneeze or cough into a tissue or upper sleeve;
Wash your hands with soap and water frequently (for 20 seconds or longer), or use hand sanitizer if soap and water is not readily available, especially after sneezing or coughing;
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands, and wash your hands promptly if you have touched your eyes, nose or mouth;
Limit close contact (e.g., hand-shaking, hugging, kissing) and avoid sharing food, drinks or towels with people, especially with people and animals who are sick;
Clean and disinfect objects and surfaces.
The most up to date and credible resource for information on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus is the CDC.
Other important sites include:
Please be assured that our office will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as needed. Your health and safety is our priority and we know that the tennis community will support each other during this time.
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