Tennis, one of the most globalized sports, continues to suffer from the pandemic. After a year in which he managed to save US Open, Roland Garros and the Masters in conditions of strict bubbles after the March break, the circuits head into 2021 with uncertainty and a calendar that only covers the first two months. The traditional display of Abu Dhabi, the Mudabala World Tennis Championship, crowned at this point in December in 2019 Rafa Nadal as champion. A tournament that has served the Balearic Islands to start the course for ten years but that this has become a WTA event already for the month of January. The champion of 20 grand, after many years, spends Christmas at home.
The traditional tour of Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East (Adelaide, Auckland, Hobart, Brisbane or Qatar) that served as a prelude to the first Grand Slam has been dismantled by the entry restrictions in Australia, a country that has virtually eradicated COVID-19. The Open is delayed for three weeks (from February 8) and tennis players will have to travel between January 15 and 16 on flights scheduled by ATP and WTA from Gulf countries and save a Two weeks guarded quarantine before competing.
Rafa Nadal takes the opportunity to vary his workouts, which he resumed twenty days ago, and take a breath before an uncertain season. Until the Rafa Nadal Academy of Manacor have attended tennis players like Felix Auger-Aliassime (20 years and 21st in the world), the pearl of Canadian tennis; the Italian Lorenzo Sonego (25th and 33rd) and the Finnish Emil ruusuvuori (21 and 86º) and with them the level of practice has increased. On social media too He has given an account of his walks in the mountains with his coach Charly Moyá or his wife Mery Perelló.
Nadal's wish is, as he said after losing to Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals of the Masters, “Be ready for January 15 and try to compete to the maximum in what is played.” A year in which there will be Games in Tokyo and where he will aspire to his third gold (one in singles in Beijing 2008 and another in doubles with Marc López in Rio 2016).
The Australian Open ‘will lock up’ players in two hotels with their coach and during the first week they will only be able to go out five hours a day of the room: two for training, two for the gym and one for eating. Nadal has chosen Italian for the practices Jannick Sinner (37th), the best young man on the circuit at 19 years old. And in the second week you can add another two tennis players to complete the training sessions.
In Melbourne, tennis players will have to undergo five PCRs during the 14-day quarantine. Once verified that they will not develop the virus, both ATP and WTA have scheduled tournaments in Melbourne itself as tests for the Open. Nadal has not confirmed if he will participate in the ATP Cup, a competition for countries where Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem will be and in which 12 countries will collide. Serbia defends title and Spain was finalist. You will most likely see him in that tournament that goes from being played in several cities to being concentrated in the capital of the state of Victoria. An atypical start while waiting for the long-awaited vaccines and normality.
ATP CALENDAR
Dates Tournament Category
5-13 January Antalya (Tur) ATP 250
5-13 January Delray Beach (USA) ATP 250
January 10-13 Australia (Doha) Grand Slam Preview
Jan 31-Feb 6 Melbourne 1 (Aus) ATP 250
1-5 February ATP Cup (Melbourne, Aus) –
8-21 February Australian Open (Aus) Grand Slam
WTA CALENDAR
6-13 January Abu Dhabi (UAE) WTA 500
10-13 January Australia (Dubai) Grand Slam Preview
Jan 31-Feb 6 Melbourne (Aus) WTA 500
Jan 31-Feb 6 Melbourne II (Aus) WTA 500
February 8-20 Australian Open (Aus) Grand Slam
February 13-19 Melbourne (Aus) WTA 250