A decision regarding the postponement of the US Open will not be made until June, while it is "highly unlikely" the tournament will be played behind closed doors.
The prestigious event is due to take place at Flushing Meadows in New York on August 31, while a medical advisory group has been set-up by the US Tennis Association to determine the required safety measures.
New York has been particularly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, lockdown measures extended to May 15 at the earliest with over 10,000 people dying to date.
"Obviously our ambition is to run the tournament. It's the engine that drives our organisation, our governing body," USTA chief executive Mike Dowse said.
"Having said that, that won't be the driving factor. The driving factor will be the health and well-being of the players, the fans and our staff.
"Time is on our side, at this point. We've set a time frame around June to make that decision, and the way we are approaching it is through a medical advisory group.
"We have five or six doctors consulting with us on a regular basis, and based on that information we will ultimately make the decision if it's safe to play the tournament or not."
On the prospect of playing without fans, Dowse said: [The USTA is] "not taking anything off the table, but right now, I'd say that's a highly unlikely scenario."
"Things are fluid. If the medical experts come back and say, 'Here is a foolproof way of running a very safe tournament; unfortunately, it has to be without fans,' we may reconsider and look at it."
The tennis calendar has already been significantly hit by the pandemic, the men's and women's Tours suspended until mid-July.
Wimbledon was cancelled earlier in April, while the French Open has been postponed from May until September.
