Serena Williams obviously felt comfortable enough to play at the U.S. Open with no fans. But with the French Open announcing its intention of hosting crowds for its tournament beginning this month, Williams, whose medical history has left her afraid of falling severely ill if infected with COVID-19, isn't sure if she'll compete in Paris.
"I'm going to have to make the best decision for my health. Maybe it will be good for me to talk to the organizers just to see how that works with the crowd and how we will be protected," Williams said. "They have to make the best decision for them, and I have to do what's best for me. But I think it should be okay. I mean, I have heard a lot from (about them just filling 50% capacity) to, you know _ so I don't know what the number will be and how close they will be. I think there is a lot of factors that hopefully _ hopefully they are thinking about, and I'm sure that they are, as this is a global pandemic."
Williams was hospitalized with a blood clot in 2011, and it reoccurred before giving birth to her daughter in 2018. Williams underwent an emergency C-section due to the pulmonary embolism, and now she's concerned about large crowds during a pandemic.
"It's just for me I'm super conservative because I do have some serious health issues, so I try to stay away from public places, because I have been in a really bad position in the hospital a few times," she said. "So I don't want to end up in that position again, so I don't know. I'll just do my best to continue to keep _ for me, I try to keep a 12-foot distance instead of 6."
The French Open, which was postponed because of the pandemic, is now scheduled to start Sept. 27, just two weeks after the U.S. Open finishes. Williams also questioned why the French Open is forcing the players to stay in designated hotels during the tournament, whereas the U.S. Open allowed them to reside in private housing.
"If there are fans, then we should be able to stay elsewhere, then," Williams said. "Yeah, that's interesting, because there is no private housing but there's fans."
France is experiencing another COVID-19 surge with over 17,000 cases confirmed on Friday and Saturday.
