Rafael Nadal: We have a responsibility to help the sport prevail in best possible way

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal spoke about the measures being taken by the tennis community during an interview with El País Semanal.

Rafael Nadal says in difficult times, you are forced to think about people who are in a worse situation than you

The 19 time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal spoke about the efforts being taken by the ATP during the current crisis. The Spaniard says, "I am part of the ATP Players Council and I think we have a responsibility to try to help the sport prevail in the best possible way. Different measures have been taken, and one of them it is to create a fund for the Top 100 players in the world who can provide an amount of money to help the other players, who are experiencing difficult situations, and many ATP employees as well. This is a fund to help the world of tennis in general, not just players. In difficult times you are forced to think about the one who is worse than you." Besides Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are also on the ATP Players Council. All three players have also made donations to various organizations through their respective foundations. Several tennis players have also come forward to raise funds by donating items, including tennis memorabilia, to raise funds for those impacted by the crisis.

Several players have said that they are not in favour of such a fund and that they would like to choose which players, causes or institutions their money goes to; and that the money to support lower ranked players should come from the governing bodies in tennis rather than the players themselves. Among those players is World No. 3 Dominic Thiem, of Austria, who said that he would like to choose which players and causes his money goes to and also said that he is already supporting some junior players from Austria.

Rafael Nadal is a 19-time Grand Slam champion and is one behind Roger Federer in the race for most number of Grand Slam singles titles in men's singles history. He has also won a record 12 French Open titles in his career. Nadal has also won a record 35 ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles, 21 ATP Tour 500 titles and the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles. He has also held the world No. 1 ranking for a total of 209 weeks, including being the year-end No. 1 five times.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/302305C