In exceptional sanitary conditions, several players have decided not to participate in American tournaments ATP. Gael Monfils is one of them, and has decided to stay in Geneva to play at padel.

A health crisis that is shaking up tennis

Tennis is gradually starting to recover from this unprecedented crisis. The WTA circuit will resume this week on Sicilian lands, with thePalermo Open. Many tournaments have been canceled, and the traditional american tour should correspond to the resumption of the ATP circuit in men.

It will start with the Cincinnati Master 1000 from August 21, which will lead to theU.S. Open from New York in early September. With a closed door announced, and several questions concerning the holding of the two American tournaments, the resumption of professional tennis in a country so affected by Covid-19 is not unanimous.

Several players will not make the trip

The unstable conditions do not allow players to travel with certainty. Therefore, many players simply have decided not to travel to the United States.

Roger Federer and Fabio Fognini will not make the trip due to injury, but the absences who challenge are those of Stan Wawrinka et Gael Monfils. The two French-speaking players are not on the list of participants in the Cincinnati Master 1000, indicating with near certainty that they would skip the Grand Chelem American.

A video has also been published in recent days, proving that Gaël Monfils does not have his head on the American tour, but padel !

Gaël Monfils, a follower of padel

The Parisian player has never hidden his love for the padel.

He discovers his American cousin, the paddle tennis, in 2006, when he was eliminated in the first round of the Las Vegas tournament. Not expecting such a premature elimination, Monfils stayed in Las Vegas where the individual paddle tennis world championship was taking place at the same time. The organizers grant him a wild-card, in order to increase the visibility of the tournament. Gael Monfils then becomes world champion padel, and will never let go of this sport again.

In 2017, Monfils preferred to participate in the Lyon Open de padel alongside Robin Haziza, while Team France Davis Cup faced Japan during the same weekend.

 

From his names, we can guess his Spanish and Italian origins. Lorenzo is a multilingual passionate about sports: journalism by vocation and events by worship are his two legs. He is the international gentleman of Padel Magazine. You will often see it on the various international competitions, but also on the major French events. @eyeofpadel on Instagram to see his best photos of padel !