The Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which housed coronavirus temporarily hospital facilities last April, will host ATP and WTA tuneup events next month in New York ahead of the US Open. – AFP Photo

NEW YORK — Next month's ATP and WTA tuneup event for the US Open that was moved from Cincinnati to New York due to the coronavirus pandemic will feature 56-player draws.

Details for the Western and Southern Open to be staged at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center revealed that eight top seeds in the ATP and WTA events will have opening byes when play begins August 22.

The finals will be played on August 28, giving players a weekend off before the Flushing Meadows fortnight begins August 31, with the second Grand Slam event of 2020 set to run through September 13.

No spectators will be allowed at either tournament, part of the safety measures in place to try and prevent COVID-19 infections among the world's top players at a facility which was used as a temporarily coronavirus hospital area when the area was the epicenter of the pandemic.

Both the ATP and WTA fields will feature 39 direct accpetances based on rankings after the entry dadline of July 27 and 12 spots for qualifiers plus five more places for wildcards.

Neither Arthur Ashe Stadium nor Louis Armstrong Stadium will be used for the event, which features the US Open grandstand court as its main showcourt along with other outer courts at the complex.

The ATP is scheduled to return with an event August 14-21 at Washington while the WTA's first US event since the pandemic shutdown is set for the week of August 10 in Lexington, Kentucky. — AFP