Rafael Nadal during an exhibition match against Roger Federer on February 7, 2020 in Cape Town. - Halden Krog / AP / SIPA

The 2020 tennis season is "practically lost" according to the world No.2 Rafael Nadal, who has the impression of "losing a year" because of the coronavirus pandemic, he told Spanish daily ABC and Tuesday El Pais. "If you give me a document saying that a normal season will start in January 2021, I will sign it without thinking," the Spaniard told ABC. "There are a lot of personal and economic interests, the sport is moving a lot, but it will cost us to return to normal," he continued.

"We are losing a year of our lives"

The 2020 season is practically lost. I hope to start next year. Hopefully, "said the Majorcan in the columns of El Pais . "I hope to play as soon as possible," he said, explaining to ABC  : "We travel every week from place to place, we are in touch with hotels, airports, places different "from the planet. Nadal has been training again since Monday on a tennis court at a friend's house, taking advantage of the authorization given by the Spanish government to athletes to train.

Entrevista con Rafa Nadal (I): "No quiero nueva normalidad, quiero la normalidad de antes" 🎾 https://t.co/IJXDrjscma pic.twitter.com/MDJa6DZ1SZ

- ABC.es (@abc_es) May 5, 2020

“My feeling, and I say it with sadness, I will not hide it, is that we are wasting a year of our lives. And at 33 or 34, it is much more valuable than at 20 ", for a tennis player, he said for ABC .

"I don't think we can play Roland-Garros"

Nadal also expressed doubts about the new calendar, turned upside down by the pandemic and the postponement of Roland Garros to the fall, a week after the US Open: “Frankly, I think it will not happen. From the US Open to Roland Garros with a week in between ... I don't think we can play, "said the man who won twelve times at Roland Garros.

The French Grand Slam tournament, scheduled from May 24 to June 7, should take place from September 20 to October 4, just after the US Open, scheduled from August 31 to September 13.

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  • Sport
  • Tennis
  • Coronavirus