Gabriela Sabatini, an Argentine tennis legend, has cast doubt on whether the professional tennis circuit will continue this year despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
According to Xinhua, Sabatini stated that the sport needs handle other priorities before resuming its crowded international program, which could happen in 2021.
“In the coming months, I think it will be difficult to hold any sporting event,” Sabatini said on Sunday’s Subidos a la Red podcast. “I have my doubts that something can be done this year in tennis,” said the 49-year-old, who retired in 1996 after winning the 1990 US Open and reaching 11 Grand Slam singles semi-finals.
The professional tennis season was suspended in mid-March in accordance with World Health Organization regulations. Tennis’ governing bodies, the ATP and WTA, have already announced that the break will last until at least June 7.
Wimbledon was canceled last week for the first time since WWII, while the French Open has been moved from May to late September.
“It’s difficult to think about the future and what may happen because precisely what you have to try is to avoid a lot of people coming together and in all these events that happens,” according to Sabatini.
“This is quite desperate. You don’t know how or when it will end, and as much as we enjoy thinking about the future, we can’t do so right now. The good news is that we are all in the same predicament because it is global, therefore the most essential thing right now is to stay at home and be healthy.
Sabatini, who achieved a career high of No. 3 in February 1989, stated that the tennis community must act properly, “because that’s the best way to help one another.”
