US Open title will not be diminished by pullouts: Serena

Six of the top-10 women’s players, including defending champion Bianca Andreescu and World No.1 Ashleigh Barty, have dropped out of the August 31-September 13 US Open, boosting Serena’s chances of winning the major for the first time since 2014.

“It still has to be tennis that is played, asterisks or not,” the six-time US Open champion told reporters on Friday. “This whole year deserves an asterisk because it is such a special year. In (our) history, we have never been through this. There is always going to be some asterisk because it has never been done before.

“If you win, you will feel like: ‘Wow, I was able to win in these crazy circumstances where there were no fans. It was just so sterile and weird, but I came through mentally’. It might be more of a mental test than anything.”

Serena, who has a history of blood clots and pulmonary embolisms, said she had concerns over travelling to New York and is living in a rented house instead of the official players’ hotel as a precaution.

“I have health issues and I don’t necessarily want to get sick. I didn’t want to be in the hotel because I have lung issues and felt it was a big risk for me. In a house, I can control more. I needed to put my mind at rest so that I could perform.”