Nadal hopes tennis circuit returns soon

MADRID: Rafael Nadal said on Sunday that he was “very pessimistic” over a full resum­p­tion of the professional tennis circuit which has been hal­ted by the coronavirus pa­n­demic.

“From my point of view, I’m very pessimistic that the circuit can resume a normal activity,” said the world number two in a virtual chat origanised by the Spanish Federation of Tennis (RFET) involving the team that won last year’s Davis Cup.

“In tennis, you need to travel every week, stay in hotels, go to different countries,” Nadal said.

“Even if it we play without an audience, to organise any event you need a lot of people involved, which cannot be ignored. At an international level I see a serious problem.”

Nadal said he hoped that restrictions can be relaxed gradually, but added that he was aware that the global health situation is serious.

“We have had a very tough month and a half, with many irreparable losses as well as others that are less important that will still bring great suffering to society, I hope only for a few months, at the economic level,” he said. “Many people are going to lose their jobs.”