When the 2020 men’s tennis season ended at the ATP Finals, Rafael Nadal captured a common sentiment that still holds true as the 2021 tennis season is set to begin this week.
“The world is suffering a lot, so we are very lucky that we can play tennis,” Nadal said in London in November. “That’s the real feeling that I have.”
After an off-and-on, pandemic-altered year for the sport, coronavirus questions and an
Opelka joined several players — a group that includes Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic — in pulling out of the hard-court tournament held last February and pushed to early January this time as part of a shuffling on both professional tours.
The scheduling changes include the start of the year’s first major championship, the Australian Open, delayed three weeks to Feb. 8, and the joint event played at Indian Wells, California — canceled last year because of the COVID-19 outbreak — giving up its usual March dates without a new spot for it on the schedule as of now.
There are some significant milestones in the offing for stars such as Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams in 2021.
Nadal can break a tie with Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam singles titles for a man after matching him with No. 20 at the French Open in October; by March, Djokovic can surpass Federer’s record for most weeks at No. 1 in the ATP rankings; Williams is one Slam singles trophy away from No. 24, which would equal Margaret Court for the most in the sport’s history.
Other tennis storylines in 2021:
FEDERER’S RETURN
More than 12 months will have passed between matches for the 39-year-old Federer by the time he returns from two operations on his right knee.
THE SLAMS
There were only three Slams in 2020, because the All England Club canceled Wimbledon for the first time since World War II. As of now, Wimbledon is scheduled for its usual place on the calendar, beginning June 28. The French Open’s start got shifted from May to September last year and the number of fans was severely restricted; as of now, it is slotted for May 23. For the Australian Open, there are lingering questions about flights, hotels and quarantine plans for players and their personnel. “I’m not that excited, to be honest. Like, I don’t want to stay in my room for 19 hours,” the 39th-ranked Opelka said. “You know, I get it; we have to do it. But I’m not one bit excited.”
TOKYO OLYMPICS
The 2020 Olympics, as they’ll still be called, are scheduled to start in July, and two tennis players representing Japan could be breakout stars:
CROWDED COMPETITION
Should be fascinating to watch the
WHO’S GOT NEXT?
There appear to be more legitimate candidates for first-time major champions in men’s tennis than there have been in years. With Dominic Thiem joining the club last year at the no-spectator U.S. Open, who will join him?
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