Rafael Nadal has a new toy. It is 24 meters long, has four double cabins in addition to a suite and is called “Great White”. This week, the 34-year-old tennis star presented his 5.5 million euro luxury yacht to the public in front of Mallorca and gave rare insights into his private life.
Even more than the equipment of Nadal’s catamaran, many tennis fans should be interested in what exactly the Spaniard is planning in his professional job this year. So far, there are only hints of this, and they have to do with the fact that nobody on the tour knows exactly what the coming months will have in store.
[Wenn Sie die wichtigsten Nachrichten aus Berlin, Deutschland und der Welt live auf Ihr Handy haben wollen, empfehlen wir Ihnen unsere runderneuerte App, die Sie hier für Apple- und Android-Geräte herunterladen können.]
Since the beginning of March, the tennis circuit has been on hold, and it should finally start again in August. And then right away, with the US Open as the highlight at the end of the month – as it was originally planned. But whether the Grand Slam tournament will actually take place in New York remains to be seen.
During the week, the preparation event in Washington was canceled, so the men’s tour should officially start again. This fed the doubts about the hosting of the following events in the United States of America, which is still badly shaken by the corona crisis.
The organizers of the US Open then set a signal and on Friday announced a hygiene concept that should make it possible. It provides for accommodation in a hotel on Long Island with over 600 rooms. Upon arrival, all professionals should be tested directly for the corona virus there and are not allowed to leave their room until the result is available. Another 48 hours later there should be a second test, the temperature is measured regularly, and apart from the matches, it is mandatory to wear a protective mask. One thing is clear: games in front of fans are not planned for this year at the Flushing Meadows facility.
Nadal recently trained on clay. Has he written off the US Open yet?
Creating such a “bubble” is not the problem. This was also possible recently at the two tournaments in Berlin, and the players around top star Dominic Thiem emphasized again and again that they consider it absolutely possible that a regular and much larger tournament could be held under such conditions.
Yet there were also doubts. The German women’s tennis director Barbara Rittner declared in Berlin not only once that, in the current situation, she does not believe that the US Open could take place. This week, she went one step further: “If I were a top independent player, I wouldn’t want to go to the USA to play a tennis tournament there,” she said.
The subject of quarantine is one that is currently being discussed intensely among professionals. However, there is now at least a little more clarity. According to this, the entry of tennis players into the USA should be possible without a subsequent 14-day isolation. The return to Europe remains questionable. Allegedly, the US tennis association USTA is currently trying to convince the responsible authorities so that this is possible for the professionals without further quarantine.
But the risk remains of being stuck in the US after the US Open. It is quite possible that the players do not even want to get involved. Rafael Nadal, for example, was last seen training on sand – even with the new balls from the French Open. They are supposed to start two weeks after the New York Grand Slam, which raises questions.
Has Nadal possibly already written off the title defense at the US Open and is concentrating on instead the supposedly safe tournaments in Europe? There is evidence to support it. Because for Madrid and Rome, two clay court events that immediately follow Flushing Meadows, the world number two has reported. Playing four major tournaments on two different surfaces within six weeks, possibly without a break, seems to be impossible, especially in the case of Nadal.
And so only days before the planned restart in professional tennis there are more questions than answers. The organizers in New York are still playing on time. You would not, however, be the first to recognize late, but not too late, that there are currently more pressing issues than holding a sporting event.
–
