The outbreak of coronavirus has brought the tennis season to a standstill with the cancelation of the clay-court and grass-court season. World No.2 Rafael Nadal believes that the nature of the sport is such that the long layoff will extend for many more months before tennis returns.

Nevertheless, the Spaniard is open to the option of playing tennis tournaments behind closed doors, that is, without fans only if the situation improves. He also revealed that he has talked to Novak Djokovic, who is the President of the ATP Council, about playing without fans. However, Nadal is not seeing any official tournament coming anytime soon.

“Right now my least concern is tennis” – Rafael Nadal

Nadal is certainly not thinking about tennis during the public crisis. However, he is looking for some other options to resume the tour when the coronavirus starts to subside a bit.

“Tennis is a global sport. We move from country to country a lot and people have to move around. Until there is a cure, the situation will be really complicated. We need to be responsible. I cannot see an official tournament in the short or medium-term,” Nadal told Spanish radio station Onda Cero on Wednesday night.

“This is very serious, there are many people who are going through a terrible situation. Right now my least concern is tennis,” he added.

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“Health comes first. But if it would be possible to play behind closed doors, I would be very happy. I have talked for many hours with Novak to see how we can help our sport,” Nadal concluded.

Also Read: Why Rafael Nadal Celebrates His Victory by Biting the Trophy

Earlier, the French Open organizers took a unilateral decision to postpone the Clay Slam from mid-May to mid-September, shortly after the US Open. On the other hand, the Wimbledon Championships was canceled for the first time since World War II. However, the prospect of either the French Open or the US Open being played with fans appears quite improbable.