To face an important season, in which the four Grand Slams, the Olympic Games, the Masters and the Davis Cup should be played, Rafa Nadal takes up training this weekend at his Manacor Academy. It does so with the uncertainty about when and under what conditions the Australian Open will be held, which, in principle, changes its dates: from those scheduled, January 18 to 31, to those proposed now, from February 8 to 21.
The pandemic is beginning to be controlled in Melbourne and the authorities of the state of Victoria do not want it to get worse again. Tennis players could arrive in the area between January 15 and 17 to do a very tough 14-day quarantine, during which they could not leave the hotel for more than five hours a day. Conditions that the professionals have not liked and that must be approved by the ATP Players Council, to which Nadal belongs.
The Balearic had known the situation for a long time and, in fact, in the press conference after his defeat against Medvedev at the Masters, he said that his plan was to “be ready by January 15 and try to compete to the maximum in what is play ”. It is still unknown what will happen to previous tournaments to the Australian major: the ATP Cup, Doha, Adelaide and Auckland.