"If you ask me today if I want to travel today to New York to play a tennis tournament, I will say no, I will not", tennis star Rafael Nadal told journalists over Zoom
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Traditionally, this is Rafael Nadal’s time to dominate: the week when the world’s premier clay-court tennis tournament, the French Open, comes to a close, and when Nadal secures another singles title.
He has won the Open an astounding 12 times, but this is a season like no other, and instead of pumping his fist and bellowing “vamos” after whipping another forehand winner in Paris, he instead spent Thursday at his academy in Manacor, Mallorca.
The French Open, originally scheduled to run from May 24 to June 7, has been postponed to late September and early October because of the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. Open, the next Grand Slam tournament on the schedule, is not certain to be played but is still set for Aug. 31 to Sept. 13 in New York, which has been hit particularly hard by the virus.
“Well, is not an ideal situation, honestly no,” said Nadal, who won his fourth U.S. Open singles title last year. “If you ask me today if I want to travel today to New York to play a tennis tournament, I will say no, I will not.
©2019 New York Times News Service