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World No. 2 offers one powerful reason why he competes.
Records and rivalries aren't the fuel that power Rafael Nadal.

The world No. 2 says there's one simple reason why he still competes: passion.

More: Nadal, Federer Are Myth-Busters

In an Instagram Live video, the king of clay says his love of the game is his primary power source.

“My motivation is very easy to understand: I love what I am doing," Nadal says at about 22:20 of the video below. "I feel super-lucky person for all the experiences that I am able to enjoy because of tennis.

"So honestly I want to keep doing the things that I like."

The two-time Olympic gold-medal champion says the joy of competing is what drives him most.

“So it doesn’t matter if I achieved a lot or not that much," Nadal said. "I like to be out there. I like to play in the best stadiums. I like to play tennis. I like the competition.

"So I am just trying to stay healthy and to do my job and do my routines every day to be ready when I have the chance to come back. That’s all that I can do today. I am just trying to do my best to be ready for what’s coming later.”

Conceding he has heard criticism over the years that his body could not withstand the physically-punishing style he played, Nadal said the motivation for capturing his fourth US Open crown last September was not about silencing the skeptics—it was about achieving his own ambition.

"I have never played to silence anyone's mouths," Nadal said. "My motivation has never been what others can think of me or to show something to those who thought I couldn't do it. It is a context from which I try to run away also in my personal life. Ambition and motivation must be personal. You have to have it for personal reasons, not external.

"It is a spirit of revenge that conceptually I do not like to have and I escape from it. You can't compete or get things from resentment. My motivations are positive, and not external and negative."

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve

Chaired by Hall of Famers Mary Pierce and Mark Woodforde, the panel is designed to give lower-ranked players a voice.
During this coronavirus-induced pause in the season, the ITF announced plans to give players a greater voice in the game.

The new ITF World Tennis Tour Player Panel will provide a forum for players to provide their input and have their say on how the tour is run and will be a further opportunity for the ITF to engage with the player community.

Djokovic: Anti-Vaccine Stance Could Block Comeback

Chaired by Hall of Famers Mary Pierce and Mark Woodforde, the panel is designed to give lower-ranked players more representation in the sport. Woodforde and Pierce also serve as athlete representatives on the ITF Board of Directors.

The panel will advise and make recommendations to the ITF World Tennis Tour Committee, which in turn reports to the ITF Board of Directors.

The men’s and women’s tennis player communities will each elect a panel of seven current player members to represents its interests, together with an ITF-appointed Chair and an ITF-appointed coach.

Player members will vote, where voting is required, on each tour’s panel to make recommendations to the ITF World Tennis Tour Committee. The Chair and the Coach are non-voting members.

Panel members will be nominated and elected by players who compete on the men’s and women’s ITF World Tennis Tour. Men’s tennis players with an ATP singles or doubles ranking no higher than No. 351 and women’s tennis players with a WTA singles or doubles ranking no higher than No. 151 are eligible to nominate a fellow player or stand in the election. Further criteria have also been devised to ensure that players from all regions and at all ranking-levels are suitably represented.

“There would be no tennis without the players, so it is vital that their voice is heard and that their views are considered when making decisions about how to run the Tour," Pierce said in a statement. "As chair of the women’s tennis panel, I will ensure that the players’ views are relayed to both the ITF Board and ITF World Tennis Tour Committee, so that the players’ opinions are heard at every level."

The nomination period for the 2020-21 panel will open in May, with the outcome of the elections expected to be announced in the week of 15 June. The elected members will serve a term until the end of the 2021 season, and thereafter will serve two-year terms.

Once elected, the panel will meet at least two times per year via video conference.

"The ITF World Tennis Tour Player Panel will be a great place for players to come together and discuss the issues that matter most to them," Woodforde said. "It is essential that athletes have a significant voice in the running of the sport, and the formation of this panel gives the ITF the more opportunities to engage collaboratively with the player community.”

Photo credit: WTA Tennis Facebook

Looking for MASSIVE SPIN? Then you may have found your new best friend…

Ready for some MASSIVE topspin? Then Dunlop has what you are looking for in the SX series.

The new black and green beast known as the Dunlop SX utilize SPIN BOOST grommets at the top of the head, which allows the main strings to slide 46% more in a specific direction to help increase ball rotation and power outside of the sweet spot.

And there’s help even if you aren’t quite making perfect contact: The technology touts greater control and spin potential even when missing the sweet spot. Sonic Core Technology with Infinergy was introduced with the CX series and now is continued onto the SX series for a more comfortable flex.

Across the entire SX racquet line, there’s a slightly expanded cross section of 23/26/23 MM giving you easier access to power. Another intriguing feature is located on the shaft just below the head where grooves in the graphite maintain stability, but also offer a more aerodynamic performance, similar to what you see on the Babolat Pure Aero. Let’s dive deeper into Dunlop’s newest series to help you determine which frame is best for your game.

SX300 Tour: offers more flex, control and stability than any other frame in the line, but will be a little harder to maneuver. Comes in at 10.9 ounces, unstrung.

SX300: The SX 300 is going to be easier to swing through the air (10.6 ounces unstrung) and has enough mass to redirect hard shots effectively. Though stability may not be as strong, it can easily be customized to your liking.

SX300 LS: The SX 300 LS offers a slightly firmer flex rating of 68 and weighs just under 11 ounces strung (10.8 oz). Though it comes in a little higher on the RA scale, it’s still going to feel very comfortable thanks to Dunlop’s Sonic Core and Power Grid technologies. The 300 LS is a lighter, more maneuverable racquet than the 300 or 300 Tour but still offers excellent stability for a lightweight frame.

SX 300 Lite: At 9.5 ounces unstrung, making it easy to generate racquet head speed and remain mobile everywhere on the court.

SX 600: The most unique frame in the SX lineup is the SX 600.It has a light unstrung weight of 9.5 ounces, but has a slightly wider beam of 23-26.5-23 millimeter for easier power and stability. The SX 600 also comes with a slightly longer length (27.25 inches) and larger head size (105) for effortless spin as well as ball speed generation.

Hall of Famer claims coronavirus is a cover for implanting nanochips in people.
Marat Safin claims the coronavirus crisis is really a conspiracy for "chipization" of humanity.

The Hall of Famer, who is a former member of Russian Parliament, called the COVID-19 pandemic "ridiculous" and proposed a chip-implant conspiracy theory in an Instagram Sports.Ru live interview.

Djokovic: Anti-Vaccine Stance Could Delay Return

"I think that people are preparing for chipization," Safin told Sports.Ru. "Back in 2015, Bill Gates said that we will have an epidemic, then a pandemic, our next enemy is a virus, not a nuclear war. Then they conducted a simulation at the Davos forum two weeks before the virus became known in the world. They all showed how all this would go.

"I don’t think that Bill Gates is such a predictor—he just knew, and everyone was getting ready. Then 5G why does it start? Then the nanochips will be introduced. Everything goes to that. Look what is happening around. The people are in a panic, everything is as it should."

Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal's uncle and original coach, told Onda Cero's "El Transistor" program, Gates made the comments about the severity of the coronavirus when Nadal was in South Africa to face Roger Feder for the Match in Africa charity exhibition.

"My nephew, when he was playing in South Africa in February, spoke to Bill Gates and told him that what was happening in China was going to get complicated," Toni Nadal said in comments published by Marca earlier this month.

The Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist addressed the issue the world was not ready for an impending pandemic back in 2015 during a TED Talks speech.

"If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades it's most likely to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war," Gates warned in 2015.

"We're not ready for the next epidemic."

The two-time Grand Slam champion suggests Gates' comments weren't prescient, but rather part of a larger plan.

"I think that it’s no longer in the phones, but implant," Safin told Sports.Ru. "After all, vaccines. Look, everything is on the Internet. I’m not saying anything new… 

"I think that everything is not as it is told, it is all a prepared situation. But the people believe in everything, in horror stories on TV, everyone now knows, understands, advises each other how many masks to buy, what to do. Therefore, opinions were divided.

"Someone believes that morgues are everywhere, people are dying in bundles, civilization will end soon, but I don’t believe it. We’ll just be going around with the chip soon."

Asked why world leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump would conspire amid a pandemic that has killed more than 166,000 people and infected millions, Safin, who was elected from Putin's party, suggested government leaders are merely pawns for powerful figures pulling the strings behind the scenes.

"I think that there are better guys than all these our leaders—and not only ours," Safin said. "Guys who are really masters of money, masters of the world, and they can do this elementary…

"I think the guys are stronger behind them. These are more illuminated guys, but there are also behind them, which we do not even know about."

Photo credit: Australian Open Facebook

In a 60-minute Instagram LIVE session with Stan Wawrinka, the World No.1 shared his views on helping tennis' less fortunate earners.

Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka addressed the subject of providing aid to the lower-ranked professional tennis players during an Instagram LIVE chat, with Djokovic explaining his views on the subject and how he sees a plan coming to fruition.

This comes a day after journalist Jon Werthiem posted an email from Djokovic, with sign-off from both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer that outlined a plan to provide relief to players ranked below 250 from a soon to be established fund that will include donation from higher-ranked players as well as contributions from all four Grand Slams and the ATP Tour. It isn’t known if the WTA will take part, but Djokovic did mention the women as he explained his views on the plan to Wawrinka today.

“Especially lower-ranked guys, who are struggling the most of anybody, because the majority of the guys ranked 200 or 250 to 700 or a thousand don’t have federation support, don’t have sponsors, so they are completely independent and kind of left alone,” Djokovic said. “So, I’m really glad that ATP, Grand Slams now, most likely, and players, hopefully if we all get together, will contribute collectively to the Player Relief Fund, that the ATP will distribute using certain models and criteria.”

Djokovic is calling for larger contributions from the top players, that will then be scaled down to be smaller for players outside the Top 20 and also doubles players. He says the plan will also look individually at more than just the players current ranking to decide which players are truly in need and which are not, with the example of a wealthier player that is currently outside the Top 200 due to inactivity due to injury being used.

Djokovic also spoke about his long term hopes of using this period to improve the tour for lower-ranked players in the future. I don't think he is wrong. pic.twitter.com/7cydQrlt4m

— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) April 18, 2020

“Right now it looks like there is going to be hopefully somewhere between $3 and $4.5 million dollars that is going to be distributed to these lower-ranked guys,” Djokovic said.

The subject has been talked about for a long time, with not much traction happening, even though tennis has constantly heard tales of players ranked as high as the Top 80 not being able to break even after putting up their travel and coaching expenses. Many in the top 100 are forced to decide against luxuries like a physio or a mental coach due to the financial strain and irregularity of income on tour.

With the Coronavirus pandemic causing incomes to be halted in the sport, there has never been a better time to take a good, hard look.

“I’m really glad that the tennis ecosystem is coming together, because I realizes the importance of the base of the tennis,” Djokovic said. “These guys that are ranked from 250 onwards, they are the ones that make the grassroots of tennis, they make the future of tennis, and I feel like we have to be united, we have to show support, we have to show them that they are not forgotten, that we are there for them but also I feel that we have to send a message to the younger generations that are taking in consideration to be professional players to show them that they can live out of tennis even in the times when there is a pandemic, when there is a financial crisis, that they can rely on the support of the top guys, of the ATP as a governing body, of the ITF, and Grand Slams.”

Djokovic hopes to see the improvements last much longer than the Coronavirus.

“I think what we did not in the short term, of coming together for this cause, I think this is necessary to happen in the long term,” Djokovic said. “You have ITF… You have Grand Slams, you have ATP as well you have WTA–all of us have to consolidate somehow and come up with a plan, and a system that will support especially the base or the grassroots of tennis which is the lower-ranked guys, both men and women, we have to somehow regulate better the initial levels of professional tennis and allow these players that are starting to play professional tennis to have an easier way of transitioning to the higher levels.”

The German is ready for tennis, even if the world isn't ready to fill stadiums.
Alexander Zverev has spoken out in favor of playing tournaments without spectators. Whatever it takes to put the tour back in business again says the 22-year-old World No.7.

“Obviously, we players like above all like playing in full stadiums, but in this unprecedented crisis, the best news would be to watch matches in front of the television set,” he told the German website Bild Sport. “It would do enormous good to all fans.”

Whether or not to play without spectators is a hot topic of debate at the moment, especially after USTA CEO Michael Dowse said that the US Open believes that playing without fans is currently a “highly unlikely” scenario. Wimbledon, the first Grand Slam to become an official casualty of the Coronavirus, had similar trepidations and elected to eliminate the uncertainty and cancel on April 1.

Wimbledon stands as the first Grand Slam tennis event to be cancelled since 1945.

Zverev hopes that the US Open and Roland Garros see things differently when all is said and done.

“It's better than simply canceling the season,” he said. “This is why I advocate playing just for TV until the health crisis allows normal conditions to be restored.”

Zverev says there is a lot of enthusiasm among his peers on tour to get the tour moving again, in any capacity.

“People will be so impatient to see tennis again that they will look forward to watching matches without an audience,” he said. “The only problem I see concerns especially the travel for the players who are almost all by plane.”

And the German says that two majors played in five weeks time, as they are currently scheduled, is better than no majors at all.

“At first glance, it's pretty bizarre to imagine playing two Grand Slams in such a short time, but if that were to be the case, all players would be satisfied to take part in this double deadline,” he said. “Having the opportunity to play two more major tournaments this year has become something to cheer about after receiving a lot of bad news with lots of canceled or delayed tournaments. "

Programs aimed to aid industry crippled by coronavirus crisis.
The coronavirus crisis has shut down pro tennis and crippled the tennis industry.

The USTA announced another shot of relief today.

USTA CEO: Highly Unlikely US Open Will Play Without Fans

The Tennis Association announced phased two of their aid package will feature financial aid to teaching pros and tennis facilities.

“We recognized helping tennis facilities, community tennis programs, and teaching professionals navigate the multitude of government grants and loans was of immediate importance,” said Mike Dowse, CEO and Executive Director of the USTA. “The foundation of our sport begins with these stakeholders and we need to ensure they can weather the storm and remain viable as the storm recedes.

"This is all about ‘relief, recovery and rebuild’ for our industry.”

For this second phase of support, the USTA announced it will offer economic aid packages, increased support to navigate government assistance for facilities and coaches, access to industry leaders, daily educational webinars and in-the-moment phone support to help individuals emotionally impacted from COVID-19.

The extent of this future support will be "determined by the financial performance of the 2020 US Open and the impact that the current pandemic has on the event," the USTA said in a statement.

The US Open is scheduled for August 31st-September 13th, however with New York City the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis the Open's status is undetermined.

The USTA will make a decision on whether to stage the Open in late June.

"The USTA’s plans to stage the tournament remain ongoing, and all decisions regarding the US Open will be guided by federal and local governmental agencies and the health and safety of the players, fans, partners, and the broader tennis community," the USTA said in a statement.

USTA staffers have taken pay cuts and funds allocated for player development, marketing and operations have been slashed helping raise $20 million for phase two of its program, Dowse told the media in a conference call today.

"On top of that we made a top priority of committing $35 million to our 17 sections, 17 sections that make the best decisions because they're the closest to the local providers," Dowse told the media. "We didn't want to have all that money centralized, we wanted to decentralize it as quickly as we could.

"In totality we've put $50 million to this initiative. We're in Phase II now. As we move into Phase III, we'll be focusing on growing the game again and also working with our peers at the ATP, WTA, Grand Slam boards, ITF. We're working closely with them to put a package together for lower-ranked tennis professionals on both the ATP and WTA Tour, as we know they have suffered significant financial hardship during this period as well."

For more on the USTA's iniative and specific information about key steps to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit www.tennisindustryunited.com.

Photo credit: USTA Facebook

The Frenchman bet on a total of 42 matches, the Tennis Integrity Unit said. Corruption caught up with a French tennis official.

Anthony Pravettoni has been suspended for eight months and fined $5,000 for betting on tennis offenses, the Tennis Integrity Unit announced. Three months of the suspension and $4,500 of the fine are suspended on condition that he commits no further breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).

Pravettoni will serve a five-month suspension, which began on April 9th, and pay a fine of $500. The TIU found Pravettoni bet on 42 pro matches—none of which he officiated in—between February 24th and August 27th, 2019.

While serving his suspension, Pravettoni is prohibited from officiating in, or attending, any sanctioned event organized or recognized by the governing bodies of the sport for a period of five months.

The Romanian voices her opinion on how the 2020 tennis season can be effectively reclaimed… A reconstructed 2020 season should be built around the Grand Slams and Premier tournaments, says Simona Halep.

The Wimbledon champion sat down with Hall of Famers Boris Becker and Mats Wilander and Indian Wells tournament director Tommy Haas for a Eurosport Tennis Legends videocast. Halep, who has been spending coronavirus lockdown at home, says WTA mandatory events and majors must be the focus of any reconstructed season.

"Well, if everything is safe and we are able to travel a 100 percent, I think that the priority has to be for the mandatory and Grand Slams, in my opinion," Halep told the Eurosport team. “Even if they change the dates, I feel like it should be a priority for these big tournaments. Because actually they keep the Tour very strong, so I have the feeling that it is going to happen if everything is okay. Even if the dates are changed, in my opinion.”

The ATP and WTA jointly announced the continued suspension of both Tours until at least July 13th.

The coronavirus pandemic prompted Wimbledon to cancel for the first time in 75 years.

Roland Garros stunned many in the tennis world with its unilateral decision to move from its scheduled May start time to September 20th—one week after the US Open ends. The Flushing Meadows major is aiming to start main-draw play on August 31st.

Halep says tennis’ governing bodies and players must unify to make a collective decision on if and when to resume the season.

“I feel like the leaders of this tennis tour, they have to come together and also to ask the players because, in my opinion, we have a good word because we have to play,” Halep told Eurosport’s Tennis Legends. “And they have to decide what is best for everybody. Not just for the tournaments or for the players.”

Halep, who won her 20th career title in Dubai earlier this season, is hopeful the season will resume—and concerned if it does not.

"If this year it’s possible to play some tournaments it is going to be great,” Halep said. “Even if the dates will be changed pretty much and even if we will have clay or hard court [tournaments]. Grass, I know it’s impossible to have it anymore.

"But I feel like if we stay one year without a tournament it’s going to be much harder to start again next year.”

The 16-year-old American talks about hard times, down moments and dealing with the hype in a post on Behind the Racquet. 16-year-old Coco Gauff has once again demonstrated wisdom beyond her years. The rising American star posted to Noah Rubin’s “Behind the Racquet” Instagram feed on Tuesday and shared some of her vulnerabilities with the world.

“I knew that I wanted to play tennis but didn’t know how I wanted to go about it,” Gauff said, mentioning a particularly turbulent emotional time that she went through. “It went so far that I was thinking about possibly taking a year off to just focus on life.”

 

 

 

 

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“Throughout my life, I was always the youngest to do things, which added hype that I didn’t want. It added this pressure that I needed to do well fast. Once I let that all go, I started to have the results I wanted. Right before Wimbledon, going back to around 2017/18, I was struggling to figure out if this was really what I wanted. I always had the results so that wasn’t the issue, I just found myself not enjoying what I loved. I realized I needed to start playing for myself and not other people. For about a year I was really depressed. That was the toughest year for me so far. Even though I had, it felt like there weren’t many friends there for me. When you are in that dark mindset you don’t look on the bright side of things too often, which is the hardest part. I don’t think it had much to do with tennis, maybe just about juggling it all. I knew that I wanted to play tennis but didn’t know how I wanted to go about it. It went so far that I was thinking about possibly taking a year off to just focus on life. Choosing not to obviously was the right choice but I was close to not going in that direction. I was just lost. I was confused and overthinking if this was what I wanted or what others did. It took many moments sitting, thinking and crying. I came out of it stronger and knowing myself better than ever. Everyone asks me how I stay calm on court and I think it’s because I accepted who I am after overcoming low points in my life. Now, when I’m on court, I am just really thankful to be out there. Personally for me, I like playing for more than myself. One of the biggest things is to continue breaking barriers. At the same time I don’t like being compared to Serena or Venus. First, I am not at their level yet. I always feel like it’s not fair to the Williams sisters to be compared to someone who is just coming up. It just doesn’t feel right yet, I still look at them as my idols. With all their accolades I shouldn’t be put in the same group yet. Of course I hope to get to where they are but they are the two women that set the pathway for myself, which is why I can never be them.” @cocogauff Go to behindtheracquet.com for extended stories, podcast and merch

A post shared by Behind The Racquet (@behindtheracquet) on

Apr 14, 2020 at 10:04am PDT

The current World No.52, who turned 16 on March 13, has since weathered those tough times and stormed onto the WTA Tour, reaching the second week of two of her first three main draw appearances at the Grand Slam level and winning her maiden career title last autumn in Linz.

The teenager talks about being a part of tennis’ hype machine and dealing with the pressure that comes with the amplified expectations now surrounding her.

“At the same time I don’t like being compared to Serena or Venus,” she wrote. “First, I am not at their level yet. I always feel like it’s not fair to the Williams sisters to be compared to someone who is just coming up. It just doesn’t feel right yet, I still look at them as my idols. With all their accolades I shouldn’t be put in the same group yet. Of course I hope to get to where they are but they are the two women that set the pathway for myself, which is why I can never be them.”

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