The former coach of Rafael Nadal has warned that the revamped 2020 ATP calendar has put veteran players such as the Spaniard and Novak Djokovic at a disadvantage.
Toni Nadal, who is the uncle of the 19-time grand slam champion, has described the packed calendar as ‘ugly’ during an interview with ESPN Deportes. All tennis tournaments have been either suspended or cancelled since March due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The organizers intend to resume the Tour on August 14th at the Citi Open in Washington. Shortly after that tournament there will be a seven-week period that will feature three Masters 1000 events in Cincinnati, Madrid and Rome, as well as the two remaining grand slam tournaments.
The packed calendar is problematic for king of clay Nadal, who is the defending champion at both the US Open and French Open. Therefore, he has a total of 2000 ranking points to defend. Making any decision to potentially miss one of those events, which will likely be the US Open in this scenario, a very tough call.
“I have spoken to Rafa and he is doubting which tournaments to play,” Punto de Break quoted Toni telling ESPN Deportes. “The schedule is unrealistic, especially for veteran players, who cannot compete for so many weeks in a row.’
“I think it is a bit ugly what the ATP has done. This decision is totally against players like Rafa and Novak. With everything they have done for tennis for years, I am surprised that they do this. I think it would be key to raise something regarding the calendar because it is not feasible to concentrate so many tournaments in such a short time.”
ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi recently admitted that clusters of events set to take place within a small amount of time are ‘not perfect by any means.’ In an interview published on the ATP website, the former player argues it is a starting point and allowed players to start earning again on the Tour.
“We realise that the resumption of the calendar is not perfect by any means – we would love to have more events and more playing opportunities, and more space between our marquee events to ease player scheduling,” Gaudenzi said.
“The reality is that the economic impact of the crisis has meant that tournaments further down the pyramid are less able to weather the storm than those at the top. But does that mean we should hold back the whole Tour until the situation is fully back to normal? Our judgment was that we need to start somewhere and if we have tournaments at the top level that are able to run, and in a safe environment, providing earning opportunities not only for players but for the whole industry, well that’s a start.”
Besides the upcoming calendar, Toni also shared his view about the controversy-stricken Adria Tour which was founded by Djokovic. The two remaining legs of the event were cancelled on Monday following an outbreak of COVID-19 among players and coaches last weekend. Resulting in the world No.1 coming under heavy criticism for the lack of social distancing and adequate COVID-19 measures in place. Although events in Belgrade and Zadar were held in accordance with local health regulations.
“It is a shame what has happened because it was a good initiative for tennis that has ended very badly and given a negative image to the sport and the players,” he commented. “In Serbia the measures were not so restrictive and the truth is that a number 1 should have been more careful, but they have already apologized, it is a mistake that can happen to anyone.”
Toni is currently serving as the head of the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy.
