Nadal decides to sit out U.S. Open
Defending champion Rafael Nadal will skip the U.S. Open because of the coronavirus pandemic, putting on hold his bid to equal Roger Federer’s men’s record for Grand Slam titles.
Nadal explained his decision in a series of tweets sent in Spanish and English on Tuesday.
“The situation is very complicated worldwide, the COVID-19 cases are increasing, it looks like we still don’t have control of it,” Nadal wrote.
The 34-year-old from Spain called sitting out the tournament scheduled to begin Aug. 31 in New York “a decision I never wanted to take,” but added that he would “rather not travel.”
“Rafa is one of the greatest champions in our sport and we support his decision,” U.S. Open tournament director Stacey Allaster said.
The current No. 1-ranked woman, Ash Barty, already had announced she would be missing the U.S. Open. The U.S. Tennis Association’s entry list announcements Tuesday noted that 2019 women’s champion Bianca Andreescu is in the field but made no mention of Nadal.
The professional tennis tours have been on hiatus since March because of the pandemic, with play resuming for women Monday in Palermo, Italy. The first men’s event on the main tour is scheduled to be held later this month.
In last year’s thriller of a men’s final at Flushing Meadows, Nadal edged Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 in 4 hours, 50 minutes. That gave Nadal four titles at the U.S. Open and a total of 19 across all the Grand Slam tournaments, just one away from Federer’s career mark.