World No.2 Rafael Nadal has given the green light to a potential move that would see tennis tournaments be played without fans in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All ATP, WTA and ITF tournaments have been suspended since March due to the virus. Leading many lower ranked players being unable to generate any income. Officials have given the date of July 13th for the sport to resume, but many fear that date will be delayed further due to the Tour heading to America. A country which has recorded more coronavirus deaths than anywhere else in the world. According to Johns Hopkins University at least 637,000 people have contracted the novel coronavirus in the US, and 28,364 people have died.
Nadal is currently residing in Majorca during the lockdown in Spain. Recently he helped raise more than 20,000 euros for the Red Cross after donating one of his French Open shirts to a charity auction. Speaking to radio station Cadena Cope, the former world No.1 insisted that he was not concerned about his form potentially declining. Although he believes there will not be a tournament in the ‘short or medium term.’
“I am not worrying about tennis now. I do physical work to not deteriorate my body.” The 12-time French Open champion said.
“Tennis is not like football, our sport involves more travelling. Until there is [a] cure, the situation will be really complicated. We need to be responsible.
“I cannot see an official tournament at short or medium-term.
“Health comes first. But if it would be possible to play behind closed doors, I would be very happy. I have talked many hours with Novak to see how we can help our sport.”
ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi has previously mentioned the possibility of tennis matches being played behind closed doors during a conference call with Italian journalists last week. However, he believes such an approach will be harder to do when compared with other sports due to the international travel of tennis with players gathering from different parts of the world.
“Even if tournaments were to take place behind closed doors, we are still talking about 2,000-3,000 people moving from one place to another, and that would make it difficult to guarantee safety for everybody.” He said.
“We don’t want to become a regional sport, because that would mean taking a step back, and that would also create a ranking problem, since the best players would be competing in different leagues instead of against each other. However, it is certainly an option, even if it’s not our preferred choice.”
Novak Djokovic is also cautious about playing at crowdless tournaments. Branding it as ‘not an easy decision.’ The Serbian started 2020 by winning 18 matches in the world and is yet to be defeated this year on the Tour. In January he claimed a record eighth Australian Open title.
“Tennis behind closed doors? It depends. It is not an easy decision. It is bigger than our sport, this decision,” he told Cadena Cope.
“I am ready to play, but this will come in the next few months. I am lucky to be with my family. Normally we are always travelling.”
It is understood that the United States Tennis Association (USTA) is contemplating playing the US Open without fans. The grand slam is scheduled to take place between August 24th and September 13th. Although there are doubts that the tournament will be able to go ahead due to the pandemic.
More than 20 ATP Tour events (excluding Challengers) have been either cancelled or suspended due to COVID-19.