“Players Are Tired Of Bubbles”: Former US Player Weighs in on Rafael Nadal’s Withdrawal From Wimbledon Championships 2021

After a hectic clay-court schedule, 20-time grand slam champion and world number three Rafael Nadal failed to defend his French Open crown as he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. Before Roland Garros, Nadal participated in four clay-court events and won two of them.

Looking at the effort that the Spaniard and his team put on the clay season, it only seems fair on Nadal’s part to withdraw from Wimbledon. Also, the postponement of French Open left only a two-week gap before the beginning of next grand slam.

Watch this story: When Novak Djokovic called Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal the GOAT

The former world number one mentioned the same in one of his tweets earlier today.

Honestly, fans of Rafael Nadal saw it coming after the French Open as the Spaniard gave hints to skip playing Wimbledon and Tokyo Olympics to focus on the hard-court swing.

With Federer struggling to find form on grass, it’s a golden opportunity for younger players to make their mark at SW19 this year. Unfortunately, the next-gen is still not ready to find their footing on grass. Going into Wimbledon, defending champion Novak Djokovic is the title favorite.

“Players are tired of bubbles” – Mardy Fish expresses his opinion on Rafael Nadal withdrawal from Wimbledon

Talking about Nadal’s withdrawal from Wimbledon and Olympics, former world number seven Mardy Fish felt that the bubble restrictions are what driving some players to opt out of tournaments.

“Hate this for Rafa. These players are tired of bubbles, reduced prize money, tournaments moving schedules(French Open)…Wimbledon has most strict bubble this year and British Open won’t have a bubble? Hmm Just talkin out loud…”, tweeted Fish.

Although Nadal’s withdrawal has a lot more to do with recovery rather than spending time in a bio-bubble, Wimbledon has already given strict instructions to players regarding the bubble at SW19.

Any player who violates the bubble rules will be subjected to tournament default followed by a fine of up to $20,000. In the previous years, players were given the chance to stay at a private place of their choice and travel to the tournament during matches.

As far as this year is concerned, the All England Lawn Tennis Club has allotted a hotel for players and their entourage to stay. While it’s hectic for any athlete to live in bio bubbles every now and then, they are essential to have continuous sporting events without cancellations.

Coming back to Rafael Nadal, he holds an amazing record at SW19 and even won a gold medal in both singles and doubles event at the Olympics. In comparison, the Spaniard has a higher chance of success at the US Open than Wimbledon due to lesser recovery period.

Going forward, tennis fans can expect a lot of withdrawals from the Big-3 as their intentions are to be fit enough to play the sport as long as possible.

Also read: “Didn’t Make it Easier on My Body”: Rafael Nadal Withdraws from Wimbledon Championships and Tokyo Olympics 2021