Rafael Nadal won’t defend his US Open title in 2020. Nadal, who is currently the no. 2 men’s tennis player in the world, confirmed on social media that he will skip this year’s tournament due to the coronavirus pandemic concerns.
“After many thoughts, I have decided not to play this year’s US Open,” Nadal wrote on Twitter. “The situation is very complicated worldwide, the COVID-19 cases are increasing, it looks like we still don’t have control of it.”
The 34-year-old Spaniard further explained his decision in a series of tweets.
Rafael Nadal claimed the US Open title last year after beating Daniil Medvedev in a marathon 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 match that lasted almost five hours. This was Nadal’s fourth US Open career win, while he also increased his Grand Slam tally to 19. The all-time record is currently held by Roger Federer, who has 20 Grand Slams.
Nadal’s announcement comes days after several other high-profile names dropped out of the tournament including No.1 women’s tennis player in the world Ashleigh Barty and her fellow Australian Nick Kyrgios.
The 2020 US Open is scheduled to take place between August 31st and September 13th. It will be the first major tennis event since the coronavirus pandemic outbreak in March.
