These are just a handful of the 24 players who have confirmed they will not take part in this year's US Open, which began in New York overnight.

It is the first of tennis's four annual majors to take place since the Australian Open in January, after the French Open was postponed and Wimbledon cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

After months of conjecture about the future of the American grand slam, many of the world's most prominent players have thumbed their noses at said concerns, and decided to play on in the most coronavirus-hit nation on the planet.

With over six million cases and more than 183,000 deaths, the US is a hotbed of infection. This became particularly evident when the Centre for Disease Control released data in July which revealed the actual number of coronavirus infections may be as many as 10 times higher than the official number, due to the scarcity of testing.

But still the tournament has gone ahead.

Men's world number one, Novak Djokovic, is one of four players who contracted COVID-19 on the ill-fated Adria Tour in June, along with Borna Coric, Grigor Dimitrov, and Victor Troicki.

Djokovic, Troicki, and Dimitrov are all playing in New York.

From the outset of the pandemic, a number of players on the tour have not taken the threat of the virus seriously, with Djokovic chief among them.

The Serbian star initially courted public controversy in April when, after he was asked about a potential coronavirus vaccine, said "Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn't want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel."

Then, in July, he described the public reaction to his opinions and decision to organise a tournament as "a witch hunt".

Though Djokovic has accepted the need to wear a mask during the Open, his attitude typifies the mindset of too many on tour.

Which begs the question: how can this event possibly be safe for players?

Though there is daily testing, no crowds are allowed in Flushing Meadows, and health guidelines have been delivered to everyone involved, do these outweigh the risk factors? Hundreds of players have travelled from across the globe to the US, which possesses nearly a quarter of the planet's COVID-19 cases.

There is clearly a bloody-minded determination on the part of organisers to continue with the tournament. Mere hours prior to the opening match, France's Benoit Paire tested positive for COVID-19.

Under the original guidelines sent out by US Open officials to players, "close contacts" of those infected would have to quarantine for 14 days, and would thus be withdrawn from the tournament.

But upon learning of Paire's diagnosis, players with whom he has been in contact have signed documents which provide new regulations to isolate them within the Open's controlled environment.

US Open CEO, Stacey Allaster, confirmed that contact tracing had been performed and the players identified will continue to be involved in the tournament "based on the medical science and all of those facts."

Fellow French national, Kristina Mladenovic, was one of the players who confirmed her contact with Paire prior to the tournament. Though she was able to continue playing, she said she was "literally allowed to do nothing else".

No training, no fitness work, nothing.

As I've never spent time behind the scenes at a grand slam, I can only imagine what players must do between matches. However, it's a safe bet that they require more than isolation in a hotel room to play at their best.

The reaction to Paire's test by US Open officials and subsequent changing of the rules at the eleventh hour makes it quite clear that the priority is to proceed at all costs.

This, combined with the dismissive attitude of high-profile players towards the virus, means the slam is a risky venture regardless of the safety protocols involved.

While the likes of Federer, Nadal, and Barty are likely sitting in their own homes and watching the tournament from afar, those at the Open must ask themselves if the risk of contracting COVID-19 is worth playing a tournament where there is a significant chance they will end up locked in a hotel room.

Because you'd have to imagine that, regardless of who raises the trophy on September 13, their victory will come with an asterisk next to it.

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