Spanish authorities have confirmed that athletes are not yet allowed to practice exercises in training centers, after the first world number one in Serbian tennis Novak Djokovic released a video of him training in a club in the south of the country. Local media confirmed that the video angered Spain's officials.
The Serbian posted on his account on "Instagram" a videotape, as he was training on a stadium in Marbella, accompanied by a comment that said, "I am very happy to play on earthy soil", with the start of easing the closures imposed to cope with the outbreak of the new Corona virus. "Okay, if only for a while." This forced the Spanish Football Federation to issue a statement stating that "training centers and clubs will open from May 11".
The Supreme Sports Council of the Spanish Ministry of Sports issued a statement yesterday, in which it clarified the conditions for returning to the exercises permitted by the government, starting on the fourth of May, with the commencement of easing the complete closure measures imposed to cope with the spread of the Corona virus.
On Monday, the government embarked on a plan to lift the total closure, which will extend in four phases. The first stage, which will run until May 11, will allow "individual exercises for professional athletes and at the national level, and basic exercises for professional championships," such as the local soccer league, to be played.
World number two Spaniard Rafael Nadal held exercises at a friend's playground "in order to avoid any kind of confusion." "I did not train at the (his) academy because I do not know if I can go and train there," Al-Matador said in an interview with the ABC newspaper published today. The second stage of lifting the closure will allow "mid-level professional training" to take place in small groups.