The United States Tennis Association is set to roll out a $15 million relief package for tennis facilities in America that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report by The New York Times.

The USTA generates the majority of its revenue – approximately $400 million each year – by hosting the US Open in New York. The fourth and final Grand Slam of the year is still scheduled for August 31 to September 13 but could well be cancelled with the Covid-19 disease continuing to spread across the world.

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Unlike Wimbledon, that was cancelled earlier this month but has an insurance cover of $141 million, the USTA has nothing to fall back on to safeguard itself from the growing losses due to the shutdown.

In order to generate the amount needed to provide assistance to the tennis programmes in America that have come to a standstill because of the pandemic, the USTA has decided to cut salaries of its top executives by 20% for the remainder of 2020.

Of the $15 million relief package, $5 million will be spent on assisting those tennis facilities that are used by the general public. Then, $5 million will be given to education programmes that support underserved communities.

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The USTA will also spend about $2.5 million in covering the dues of coaches who are members of the United States Professional Tennis Association and the Professional Tennis Registry. These two organisations certify teaching professionals in the United States.

The rest of the money will be spent on helping those who need counseling and legal support to cope with the pandemic.

The report quoted USTA chief executive Mike Dowse as saying that this emergency assistance, a formal announcement of which will be made on Thursday, will be provided even if the US Open ends up getting cancelled. “These plans will hold,” he said. “This was modeled off what we know we can do, and then in theory, if we can do more, we will try to do that as well.”