Rafael Nadal has become the second high-profile withdrawal from the US Open following women’s world number one Ash Barty.
Spanish world number two Nadal announced he wouldn’t be taking part in the competition because of the conditions surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. This leaves Novak Djokovic as the only member from the Big Three left to participate in the tournament.
There had been rumblings of a Nadal withdrawal after he had commented on how difficult it would be for him to take part in the tournament if it was played a few weeks ago.
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Now, in a series of tweets, Nadal admitted the situation hadn’t been too conducive for him to fly to New York and participate in the tournament. He said:
“After many thoughts I have decided not to play this year’s US Open. The situation is very complicated worldwide, the COVID-19 cases are increasing, it looks like we still don’t have control of it.”
“We know that the reduced tennis calendar is barbaric this year after 4 months stopped with no play, I understand and thank for the efforts they are putting in to make it happen. We have just seen the announcement of Madrid not being played this year.”
“All my respects to the USTA, the US Open organisers and the ATP for trying to put the event together for the players and the fans around the world through TV.”
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Earlier, Nick Kyrgios had also withdrawn from the tournament, and more players are expected to follow suit. There is also an increasing sense of frustration at the lack of clarity about how player rules during the tournament.
Andy Murray, another former Grand Slam winner, has committed to playing in the US Open. However he did admit the US Open will need to be very strict about their bio-secure bubble rules because it would be silly to expect rules not to be broken.
Earlier, the Madrid Open organisers had announced the cancellation of the tournament due to the pandemic. Ticket-holders can keep their tickets for the same session and seats for the 2021 edition.
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