Rafa Nadal says he would not travel to US Open

Written by : Jose Alvarado Sandoval ( Dj Malanga ) 

Ordinarily, Rafael Nadal would likely be closing in on a 13th French Open title this week. Instead, he is home in Mallorca trying to make sense of a world that feels anything but normal.

Tennis is on hold until at least the start of August because of the coronavirus pandemic, and while there have been positive noises about the prospects of the US Open taking place, followed by the French Open, the Spaniard served a dose of reality.

Speaking via Zoom to tennis media on Thursday (June 4), the day after his 34th birthday, Nadal was asked his thoughts of playing at the US Open, of which he is reigning champion.

"If you asked me today if I want to travel today to New York to play a tennis tournament, I will say: no, I will not," the world No. 2 told reporters. "In a couple of months, I don't know. Hopefully yes.

"We need to wait probably until we have more information about how the virus evolves, how the situation's going to be. New York has been one of the places that has been hit most strongly by the virus."


When tennis returns, it will most likely be without fans.