Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova opts out of US Open

MOSCOW: Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova said that she will not travel to New York to take part in the US Open later this month as organisers could not guarantee her health and safety amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pavlyuchenkova, 29, joins the likes of men's defending champion Rafael Nadal and women's world number one Ash Barty who pulled out of the Grand Slam out of fear of contracting the novel coronavirus during their stay in the country.

"I've been thinking a lot and decided not to play (the) US Open this year," Pavlyuchenkova, ranked 30 in the world, said on Instagram.

"The main reason is insecurity, (the) US Open doesn't provide any guarantees. I don't feel comfortable to travel to USA in such circumstances.

"From this moment, every player is on his own. My team and I have decided it would be for the best not to participate."

Although Barty has pulled out, nine of the women's top 10 were named in the women's field while world number one Novak Djokovic headlines the men's field after organisers released the entry list on Tuesday. Agencies

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