Rafael Nadal doesn’t anticipate tennis events re-starting any time soon — and he’s not concentrating on it either.
In an interview with El Partidazo and El Transistor radio, the Rafael Nadal said holding tournaments would be difficult even with no fans in the stands.
“That is not the issue,” he said. “The issue is what is required for organization of any event in tennis.
“The [soccer] league is a country or a continent. But tennis is such a global sport, week by week… it seems difficult there could be an official tournament. In this sense, in tennis we have to have responsibility.”
On a personal level, Nadal says he’s concentrating more on coronavirus pandemic relief efforts. The Spaniard and basketball player Pau Gasol raising 7 million Euros as a start to a campaign to collect 9 million Euros for Spain.
“I’m better than three weeks ago, even though we have been confined for longer,” he said. “I started to think more positively and help people.”
“What least worries me today is tennis,” he said. “I’m doing my exercises, so the body doesn’t go down too much. This is a very serious thing that goes on a long time, and so many people are suffering.”
Nadal’s uncle and coach, Toni, confirmed this in an interview with Mundo, saying, “We were talking and Rafa said he doesn’t care one little bit about tennis right now.”
“This has to be fixed first. It’s not easy to go back on the street if you’re not calm,” he said. “What if there is another wave? What countries won’t have restrictions on movement, what is the length of the confinements there? I don’t know. Tennis is a sport moving many people between a country and another. It is secondary.”
But the No. 2 is staying involved in the sport, looking to provide assistance for lower-ranked players.
“These few weeks we have been talking for hours on the players council, about helping those who are having problems,” he said. “We cannot decide a schedule, but we can help those who are not ATP Top 100 players.”
Nadal won the title at Acapulco before the suspension of tour competition.
