Madrid: Ordinarily Rafa Nadal would likely be closing in on a 13th French Open title this week. Instead, he is home in Mallorca trying to make sense of a world that feels anything but normal. Tennis is on hold until at least the start of August because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been positive noises about the prospects of the US Open taking place, followed by the French Open. However, for Rafa Nadal the situation is not good. He summed up the present condition with a dose of reality.
Candid confessions
Nadal was speaking Thursday to tennis media via Zoom the day after his 34th birthday. He was asked his thoughts of playing at the US Open, where he is the defending champion.
“If you asked me today if I want to travel today to New York, I will say: no. I certainly will not,” the World No.2 told reporters. “In a couple of months, I don’t know. Hopefully yes. We need to wait probably until we have more information about how the virus evolves. We will also have to assess how the situation’s going to be. New York has been one of the places that have been hit most strongly by coronavirus,” Nadal added.
Tennis without fans
When tennis returns, it will most likely be without fans. “I hate the idea, honestly, but if that’s the only way, why not? That’s my position. I don’t understand tennis without the energy of the crowd, without the passion a full stadium brings,” asserted the Spaniard.
The George Floyd ‘disaster’
While still in the grip of a pandemic, the US is also experiencing outrage and protests over the death of George Floyd. The entire incident has stunned Nadal.
“I am of course worried to see all these disasters happening on the streets,” Nadal said. “Violence and pandemics like this today create a difficult climate, a difficult atmosphere for the world. It’s important to stay calm, to respect everyone, to live together in peace,” Nadal said.
Life more important than tennis
While Nadal is missing his Roland Garros stomping ground, he says there are more important things.
“I miss playing the tournaments that I like. At the same time I’m not thinking about that. First we must recover normal life, recover the freedom in terms of be able to enjoy our personal lives. Only after that, then try to organise our professional lives,” Nadal pointed out.
Nadal thinks tennis faces a tough challenge to restart, especially with some regions seeing rising COVID-19 death rates. “We can’t come back until the situation is completely safe. Players from every single part (of the world) can travel to the tournaments under safe circumstances. Without players competing, a tournament has no value,” Nadal stated.
Not worth the risk
“From my point of view it wouldn’t make any sense to go back to play tennis now, I don’t think it’s worth it to take the risks. But if they (researchers) say we won’t have it until two years, then we need to find ways to go back to some kind of normality. This is because the world and sport can’t stop for so long,” the Spaniard signed off.
Agencies
