ARTICLES:
āIām sure you had a great learning experience at the Academy in school. But also away [from the classroom], I hope you learned from Rafa. He is a champion in so many ways. He is very humble,ā Federer said. āAlways remember to be kind. Remember to be kind to others. You are only as strong as your team and I hope you go on and have a successful and a wonderful career in whatever you are doing, and when you look back at these days in the Academy, [you remember them] as some of the best days of your life.ā
āThe fact that an entity such as Laureus Sport for Good, which has vast experience and high standing on this area internationally, has committed to collaborate with the Rafa Nadal Foundation is excellent news, for us as an organization as well as for hundreds of children and families who will benefit from it,ā explains Maria Francisca PerellĆ³, Director of the Rafa Nadal Foundation.
The new-look ATP Tour calendar intends to resume on Friday 14 August with the Citi Open, the ATP 500 event in Washington, D.C., followed by the Western & Southern Open, the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 event, to be hosted at Flushing Meadows, in the lead up to the US Open (31 August ā 13 September).
Following New York, the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, ATP Masters 1000 events on clay in Madrid and Rome, respectively, will take place in September ahead of Roland Garros in Paris (27 September ā 11 October), which will also feature a singles qualifying draw the week prior.
PHOTOS: Rafael Nadal jet skies around Ibiza
VIDEO: Rafael Nadal joins the ‘Spain for Sure’ campaign
ESPN started a fan poll to determine the most dominant individual in sports and Rafa was the winner in front of Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps.
With his 15 year dominance on clay and his consistency overall, there’s no doubt that Rafa deserves this title.
According to todayās Mallorca/Majorca Daily Bulletin Mallorca has reported THREE new outbreaks.
āA third outbreak recorded in Majorca was within a family and 6 people are infected, although none of them showed any symptoms. 4 others who were in close contact with the family are self-isolating and a restaurant in Cala Rajada where one of them works has been closed until July 24.
Those 3 new Covid-19 outbreaks in Majorca and one other in Minorca makes a total of 12 in the Balearic Islands with 63 people infected and 122 others either under surveillance or in isolation.ā
Yes, as Rafael has stayed in Mallorca in July and August he has not been very
far , wearing a mask and training in the Aca. I spoke to them on the phone and They saĆÆd the public are allowed in with a mask but it looks as if the courts have been closed off for him not to .be in contact with the public whereas normally They are open in summer to view. The other days he has been out in the yacht. š¤Now training in Roma āŗ good luck .In Paris I am praying for the R Garros, šWe have just been told that the qualifications week before will .be closed to the public and we had bought our tickets š” It is because that week places are not numbered and there would be more risk of people being too close togeher. šÆ Fiona in Paris
I’m really missing tennis, although some of the exhibition events have been shown on TV. I can’t see all the top non-American players going to New York: I know Medvedev and Tsitsipas are playing Washington so presumably they intend to play in New York but, with a fortnight’s quarantine required in many countries on returning from America, I’m not sure who else will. And the switch from hard to clay is going to be very quick.
What a sad year this has been.
The Grandstand by Ricky sent out an email stating that Wimbledon, the only Slam that has been canceled thus far, has allocated 10 million pounds in prize money to the 620 would-be participants in the 2020 season. This is possible through Wimbledonās pandemic insurance policy.
Nice to see that they have also provided payments to the umpires and officials.
On another note am somewhat concerned seeing photos and videos of Rafa lately where he is shaking hands with players heās practicing with and posing for selfies shoulder to shoulder with people. He took an item a fan handed to him to autograph. At least he was wearing an N95 mask yesterday leaving his Academy ahead of it becoming required next week in Mallorca.
Please, please Rafa take every precaution that you can around others to keep yourself and your family safe. We love you.
Yes Pauline, this is a concern, I thought hand-shaking was strictly forbidden at the moment everywhere in Europe. In Paris we are told to keep our distance, of course there was no fear before, we got close up to him for photos and autographs but now yes; Fiona in Paris
Yes. Taking out the insurance policy against a pandemic was a very smart move on the part of Wimbledon. I’m glad to see the money being distributed in that way.
No doubt the insurance company will sky rocket future premiums, so i don’t think that Wimbledon will be renewing its policy.
Hiya Lorna, according to reports Wimbledon has been paying for pandemic insurance since the 2003 SARS outbreak. They were ahead of most other sports businesses.
The Open [golf] and the Premier League had no insurance so they lost plenty of money on their investment.
Hi Margo. Thanks for further info on that. Interesting.
Rafa has confirmed to Feli Lopez his participation in the Madrid Open which is scheduled to begin on Sept.13. That is the same day of the U.S. Open final. Granted Rafa wouldnāt start the first day but that would only give him a few days to transition from hard to clay were he to make it to the final. There have been photos of Rafa practicing on clay at his academy. Wondering if he and Carlos have already made their decision to stay in Europe? If so I believe itās the smartest choice as if the ranking proposal stays the same he keeps the 2,000 points he earned in New York last year.
All of this is of course is heavily subject to change.
PER THE ATP:
BEST OF 2019 & 2020 RESULTS
Among the key elements of the revised 22-month Ranking system are the following:
A playerās ranking will be comprised of his “Best 18” results between March 2019 and December 2020.
A player cannot count the same Tour-level tournament twice in his “Best 18” breakdown. For example, a player who played the Mutua Madrid Open in 2019 and plays Madrid again in 2020, will count the better of those two results.
Tour-level tournament points added in 2020 that count in a playerās Ranking Breakdown will remain on a playerās ranking for 52 weeks, or until the event in question is played again in 2021, whichever
comes first.
The temporary changes to the Rankings system have been made in consultation with the four Grand Slam tournaments and the ITF. Should the 2021 season be impacted by Covid-19, further adjustments to Rankings will be considered.
NITTO ATP FINALS QUALIFICATIONS:
The revised FedEx ATP Rankings will determine the singles qualifiers to the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals. As per normal, points earned at the season finale (as an additional 19th event) in 2019 will not count towards a playerās qualification for the 2020 event, ensuring a level playing field for 2020 qualification.
I remember Rafa pushing for a 2-year ranking system instead of annually. Rafa may get his wish, sort of. The ATP announced that rankings will be for 22 months this go around. Itās a mix of things but it will include rankings from 2019. It isnāt a permanent thing and is subject to change as needed.
…foot asleep….
” I have never counted it but in the 2008 Wimbledon final I had to play with my foot askeep from the start of the match…. The stops complcated everything because the anestaesia didn’t last and I needed it because I couldn’t support my foot”. This is what Rafa revealed to Essentially Sports about his match against Roger – a fact which I didn’t know at the time.
As we know, victory didn’t come easy for Rafa and he explained that he had a severe foot injury which meant he had to have an anestaetic before the match. What a warrior! What a champion!
Since the bit about Rafa needing his left foot numbed before the Wimbly ’08 final is described in his book (with John Carlin, pub. in 2011) I’m kind of surprised that this is even news. It’s described there as “a blister and a swelling”. (Which is how planar fascitis, a very painful condition, is usually described – most people can’t even walk across a room with it!) The anesthetic was supposed to last for 5 hours and it did in fact last for the duration of the match, but I’m not surprised that Rafa was very concerned what with 5 sets plus rain delays.
VAMOS SWEETHEART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) AM WATCHING YOUR MOST RECENT US OPEN VICTORY….YOU ARE PRECIOUS BEYOND WORDS AND SO BRILLIANT IN YOUR FOCUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) ALL YOU MATCHES ARE TRUE TREATS AND WATCHING THEM OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS AS BEAUTIFULLY REWARDING AS THE VERY FIRST LIVE MATCH…..KUDOS SWEETHEART AND VAMOS FOR ALL OUR BRILLIANT SOLID TENNIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) MANY OF YOUR OPPONENTS ARE MANY YEARS YOUNGER AND YOU MANAGE TO UNDO THEIR ATTEMPTS AND TAKE THEM TO THE CLEANERS……..VERY IMPRESSIVE SWEETHEART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) YOU MANAGE EACH POINT WITH SUCH FOCUS…..AND PHYSICALLY YOU ARE SO ON TOP….SO FIT…..SO FAST……SO HUNKY GORGEOUS ….ONE CLASSY GOAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!: ) WE LOVE YOU AND ENJOY YOUR US OPEN REPLAY SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) GO RAFA GO AND VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
The irony of Djokovic. If philanthropy were really the sole goal-donate and set an example by protecting your family, wearing a mask, etc. His father, ever the buffoon, makes me think of children who have wanted to divorce their parents. Neanderthal comments directed to and about Roger are legendary. Pathetic, yet sadly funny. That elusive magic is just not there.
As if Novak didn’t have enough woes, his father has waded in blaming Grigor Dimitrov for the spread if the virus. This comes on the back of him criticizing Roger for not retiring. Doesn’t he realise that he’s doing his son more harm than good in the popularity stakes? I bet Novak wishes he could place a gagging order on him as tennis is getting media attention for all the wrong reasons.
Meanwhile, Rafa and Roger continue to demonstrate that they are great ambassadors of the sport.