Sports fans have been eagerly waiting to attend the US Open event after a one-year COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown but were left shocked and worried as thousands of attendees had to wait in long queues for hours to get inside Arthur Ashe Stadium amid the new mandatory vaccine certificate check.
To make the matter worse, media reports saying that a woman collapsed due to heat in the facility also broke out.
Several fans took to Twitter to express their disappointment with the protocols that led them to wait for hours in the heat. Some fans also complained that they missed important matches due to the wait. See some reactions here.
The social media users also complained about how the overcrowding can lead to coronavirus spread with many pointing out that many spectators were not wearing masks or practicing social distancing at all.
The UTSA in a statement responded to the situation and said that it trying to find the best possible solutions to the issue.
“The USTA strives to make the US Open experience the best possible experience. We recognise delays to the entry of the grounds for our first session have inconvenienced US Open fans,” the statement read.
The body also highlighted three factors contributing to the delay.
“Three primary factors are contributing to the delay of entering the US Open through the East Gate of USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center are
1. Crowds have arrived later than they generally have in the past. Previously, the number of patrons arriving to the grounds prior to am averaged approximately 10,000. This year, the number arriving prior to 11 am was only 3,000.
2. Once a certain capacity is reached on the Boardwalk connecting the train platform and the entrance to the site, the New York Police Department begins to hold patrons on the Citi Field side of the Boardwalk until capacity is diminished on the Boardwalk.
3. Patrons have brought an inordinate number of bags this year, all of which need to be searched.
New York City mayor’s office on Friday mandated a proof of vaccine to enter Arthur Ashe Stadium, the main venue for primetime of the US Open matches.
Tennis fans 12 years or older will be required to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine in order to attend the Tennis Grand Slam.
“Any US Open attendee with tickets to Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, the Grandstand, or the grounds of the US Open, will be required to provide proof of at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine,” the USTA said in a statement.