Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal isn’t sure about big tournaments taking place soon
Spanish tennis sensation Rafael Nadal believes that tennis competitions can return soon despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The ATP and WTA jointly decided to stop all tennis tournaments till July 2020. Most competitions during the grass-court season have been cancelled, including the 2020 Wimbledon event.
Others, such as the French Open, have postponed their event to a later date in the year. There has been no confirmation of any events taking place in, but Nadal believes tennis can return.
The Spaniard was speaking to Radio Onda Cero and claimed that returning to action was difficult.
However, the 19-time Grand Slam winner believed that playing behind closed doors is an “idea to start again.”
This would mean no fans in the stadium and further restrictions on how many media personnel can be in the location.
The 2021 Australian Open is willing to take some of these measures on, but Nadal has reservations for the big competitions.
A lot of people moving about
The four majors see a lot of travelling to the country hosting the event. Halting that won’t be a problem but it would be difficult for players and their trainers etc to travel across the world at this point.
This is something that Nadal alluded to and he didn’t think a major tournament could be held soon:
“I honestly doubt that a great tournament can take place in the short or medium term. Tennis is a world sport: we go from country to country moving a lot of people.”
Nadal is right in saying that big tournaments cannot be played now. There are too many lives at risk and the virus hasn’t been contained properly yet.
The Spaniard was a favourite for Wimbledon and the French Open, but it is to be seen when tennis returns.
Not having the fans in an arena would be a downer, but this is one way to get things back on track.