Paris (AFP)

A new headliner in less: Simona Halep on Monday gave up her participation in the US Open, the New York Grand Slam tournament facing a real hecatomb in the female and male tables due to the Covid crisis -19.

The fingers of one hand are now too numerous to count the players of the top 10 world who will appear from August 31 on the courts of Flushing Meadows.

Exit the world No.1 Ashleigh Barty, the title holder and 6th world Bianca Andreescu, and now the world No.2, Simona Halep.

"After weighing all the factors and the exceptional circumstances we live in, I decided that I would not travel to New York to compete in the US Open," wrote the 28-year-old Romanian, who counts Roland Garros 2018 and Wimbledon 2019 to his credit and just won the Prague tournament on Sunday.

"I have always said that I will put my health at the heart of my decision and that is why I prefer to stay in Europe and train," added Halep, noting however the efforts put in place by the American tennis federation and the WTA for holding a US Open in a safe environment.

- Golden opportunity for Serena? -

From the top 10 of the WTA, there are only the Czech Karolina Pliskova (N.3), the Americans Sofia Kenin (N.4) and Serena Williams (N.9) and the Japanese Naomi Osaka (N.10) .

Under these circumstances, the US Open 2020 represents a golden opportunity for Serena Williams: the 38-year-old American has been trying since January 2017 and her 23rd Grand Slam coronation to join the Australian Margaret Court and her 24 major coronations at the top of the Women's tennis hall of fame.

Since then, she has failed four times on the last step: in the final of Wimbledon 2018 against the German Angelique Kerber, the US Open 2018 against Osaka, Wimbledon 2019 against Halep and the US Open 2019 against Andreescu.

Her loss in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Lexington (Kentucky) last week against her modest compatriot Shelby Rogers (116th world before the tournament), however, did not come to reassure her.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, women's tennis was shut down on March 8 (finals of the tournaments in Lyon in France and Monterrey in Mexico) and did not resume its activities until August 3 in Palermo .

And the threatening shadow of the new coronavirus continues to hover over the circuit, as shown by the recovery in Palermo (a player tested positive and placed in isolation).

- Without Federer and Nadal, with Djokovic -

In New York, a strict health protocol will be applied, including tests carried out for participants, before their departure for New York, on their arrival and throughout their stay, once or twice a week. Above all, the tournament will be played without a spectator.

The hecatomb observed in the female table does not spare the male table: for the first time since 1999, the US Open will be without Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

The Spaniard with the 19 Grand Slam titles gave up because of the sanitary conditions and the "madness" of the calendar proposed by the ATP, while the Swiss, holder of the record for Grand Slam victories (20), had to have his right knee operated a second time and has already ended his season.

Taking the opposite view of Nadal, Novak Djokovic, world No. 1 and holder of 17 major titles, decided to go to New York for the Cincinnati Masters 1000 (August 22-30) and the US Open (August 31 -13 September).

Dominic Thiem (N.3), Daniil Medvedev (N.5, defending champion in Cincinnati and US Open finalist), Stefanos Tsitsipas (N.6) and Alexander Zverev (N.7) will also be present.

On the other hand, Gaël Monfils (N.9), Fabio Fognini (N.11) and Stan Wawrinka (N.17 and crowned at Flushing Meadows in 2016) will be missing.

© 2020 AFP