Rafael Nadal says tennis season is 'practically lost' despite hopes over US and French Open

Nadal: 'My feeling is that we are losing a year of our lives.'
AFP via Getty Images

Rafael Nadal feels the 2020 tennis season is “practically lost” and says he is already switching his focus towards the start of the 2021 campaign.

Professional tennis is currently suspended until July 13, with Wimbledon having been cancelled outright, but due to the global nature of the circuit many within the game believe it is unlikely that the ATP and WTA tours will be able to restart any time soon.

U.S. Open organisers said yesterday that they remain hopeful that this year’s tournament at Flushing Meadows will start as planned on August 31, while the postponed French Open is scheduled to begin on September 20.

The Spaniard is just one Grand Slam singles title away from equalling Roger Federer’s all-time men’s record of 20 wins. But while the happy hunting ground of Rolland Garros – where he is a 12-times champion – would seem the ideal place to get it, the Spaniard is looking towards the Australian Open at the start of 2021 as a more realistic target.

Getty Images

"I hope we can return before the end of the year but unfortunately, I don't think so," Nadal said in Spanish newspaper El Pais. "I would sign up to being ready for 2021.

"I'm more worried about the Australian Open than what occurs at the end of this year. I think 2020 is practically lost.

"I hope we can start up again next year, I really hope that's the case.

"My feeling and I say it sadly, I won't lie to you, is that we're losing a year of our lives.

"And at 33, 34 years old, that is more valuable than at 20 when you have a lot more ahead."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in