The ATP Tour has been on suspension since March, which has led to a complete change in the tennis calendar.
The US Open is planning to run from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13 in New York. Wimbledon cancelled the event entirely because they were able to cash in on an insurance policy. But the French Open, which typically runs from late May to early June, has been postponed to Sept. 26 to Oct. 11. That means there will only be two weeks between the majors, which puts a lot of pressure on the players.
First off, many players like to have a break between majors if they can. In the current schedule, there will be Masters events in between. Secondly, the majors are on two different surfaces — hard courts for the US Open and clay courts for the French Open. Many players who are not clay court specialists like to play in several clay court “tune-up” tournaments before the major to get used to it. This schedule doesn’t really allow that opportunity.
That’s why Toni Nadal, the uncle/longtime former coach of Rafael Nadal, calls the 2020 schedule “unrealistic” and says Rafa might miss one of the events.
“I have spoken to Rafa and he is doubting which tournaments to play,” Toni told 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 Djokovic.”
Roger Federer has the most majors in men’s singles tennis with 20, while Nadal is one behind and Djokovic is at 17. Rafa is the defending champion for both the US and French Opens and might not defend his title at one, which would be the US Open given his historic dominance at Roland Garros.
All three players are in competition to win the most ever, so this schedule is not anywhere near favorable to that pursuit.
