World No.2 Rafael Nadal has said he is ‘very pessimistic’ that the world of tennis will be returning back to normality anytime soon.
The ATP, WTA and ITF tours have all been halted since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The date for the professional tournaments to resume is currently set to be on July 13th, however it has been reported that the suspension will be extended by at least another month in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, there is also uncertainty about if the US Open will be going ahead as planned this year with a final decision expected to be made in June. Wimbledon has already been cancelled for the first time since 1945.
Weighing in on the current situation during an online chat organised by the Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET), 19-time grand slam champion Nadal believes it will be tough for things to get going again. Even if alternative measures such as holding tournaments behind closed doors goes ahead.
“From my point of view, I’m very pessimistic that the circuit can resume normal activity,” Nadal said.
“In tennis, you need to travel every week, stay in hotels, go to different countries.
“Even if we play without an audience, to organise any event you need a lot of people involved, which cannot be ignored. At an international level I see a serious problem.”
Nadal, who won his 85th ATP title at the Mexican Open in February, isn’t the only tennis player to have their doubts. South America’s highest ranked player Diego Schwartzman said he is unconvinced that the Tour will be able to resume at all this year due to the complexity of international travel.
“There is very little information on when the circuit will resume. At first the communication was very bad from the ATP about the cancellations, I think it also caught them off guard. I see it very difficult to play this year,” Schwartzman told TNT Sports.
“I don’t know if the healthiest thing would be if they tell us that the year is lost, every 15 days we find out that the circuit is delayed for a while longer. Tennis is played every week in a different country, it is not easy to resume.”
To fill the void, some countries are in the process of setting up their own national tournaments to help players earn money and get match play. On Sunday Spain released further details about their plans, which could also see Nadal playing. The RFET will hold six tournaments with prize money of 100,000 euros each for players in the top 100. A further 12 will also be hosted for those ranked between 90 and 500.
Whenever the sport does get going again, Nadal said players will need time to regain their fitness levels. Due to various countries being in different stages of the pandemic, some athletes have been able to resume training whilst others are still in lockdown.
“It will be a very tough job to regain fitness and you will need lots of discipline and lots of suffering,” he said. “The sooner we can resume activity the better. From the point of view about going back to competitions, I’m pessimistic.
“But there are many other things more important than tennis.”
Nadal is the reigning US Open and French Open champion. Both of those tournaments are currently scheduled to take place during September and October.
