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International tennis has stopped since the last week of February due to the global pandemic dictated by Covid-19. The last event affected by the virus was Wimbledon, which will not be played for the first time since 1945; shortly after this announcement, ATP and WTA released a joint update stopping each tournament until July 13th.
In this context, the reigning Wimbledon champion, Simona Halep, said she did not believe in the possible return to the field during the first part of the summer. At the moment, however, the USTA (United States Tennis Association) continues to ensure that the last slam of the season will be played between August 24th and September 13th.
All this despite the Billie Jean Tennis Center, where the event takes place, has been temporarily transformed into a Covid patient hospital with 350 beds. “Well, it’s a problem for the world. It’s safer that everything got canceled.
It’s not a small problem, it is a huge problem, we have to just listen to what they say. So stay home and be safe. Tennis is not everything in my life,” Halep stated at the ‘lockdown’ edition of the Tennis Legends vodcast.
Despite the odds, she has rationally accepted in the global chaos and prefers to resume tennis when situations are back to normal. “Of course, I have been in tennis for so many years, it’s been a priority and it is still.
I’m doing everything to stay fit, to get very fast in the rhythm, when everything is going to start again. But no I prefer to stay and wait and see when everything is going to be safe and start traveling again. So, if I’m not 100% safe I’m not going leave home.
Everything which has been decided already, its perfect for me. Even if I miss the tournaments, it is better to stay safe and take these decisions,” the former World number 1 concluded.