Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic mull possibility over playing tennis 'behind closed doors'

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in lockdowns across the globe, resulting in all sporting events coming to a halt. The tennis season has been massively affected with the French Open postponed to September while the entire grass-court season was cancelled. World No.2 Rafael Nadal believes that it will be a long time before tennis resumes and as a result, he is open to the possibility of playing the sport behind closed doors in the short run.

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Rafael Nadal has discussed playing tennis behind closed doors with World No.1 Novak Djokovic  

Rafael Nadal, speaking to Spanish radio station Onda Cero on Wednesday, said that tennis is the least of his concerns at the moment. Nadal added that he cannot see an official tennis tournament in a short or medium-term since tennis is a global sport which primarily involves travelling. The 19-time Grand Slam champion added that while public health is the top priority, he would be happy to play in closed-door tournaments. Rafael Nadal added that he has had conversations with Novak Djokovic to see if they can help tennis get back on its feet as soon as possible.

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Novak Djokovic donates €1 million to fight Coronavirus pandemic

Novak Djokovic is currently in Spain amidst the coronavirus lockdown in the country. Djokovic donated €1 million ($1.1 million) in his home country Serbia to buy respirators and other gear to combat coronavirus. The World No.1 also made a donation towards the Spanish coronavirus relief fund, which was lauded by rival Rafael Nadal. Djokovic's donation came in after Rafael Nadal urged athletes to help him raise an ambitious target of $12.13 million to help fight the coronavirus pandemic in one of the world's worst-affected countries.

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Rafael Nadal net worth and Novak Djokovic net worth  

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are two of the highest-paid athletes in the world. According to Forbes, Nadal is globally ranked 37th and fourth among the highest-paid tennis players as of December 2019. The magazine estimates his total earnings at $37.3 million a year, which includes his salary of $4.3 million and his endorsements, which pay him around $33 million. The magazine also pegged his total earnings from prize money at $114 million. Nadal believes in spending his hard-earned fortune just like he plays tennis – with full enthusiasm. The Spaniard has two lavish homes – one in his home country at Mallorca worth $1.5 million and the other in the Dominican Republic, the estimated cost of which is $2 million. 

On the other hand, the Novak Djokovic net worth figure stands at an estimated $220 million, as reported by Celebrity Net Worth. Djokovic has also signed many sponsorship and endorsement deals over the years. He has endorsed brands like Lacoste, ASICS shoes, Uniqlo, Telekom Srbija as well as German nutritional supplement brand FitLine.

He is also an ambassador for Ultimate Software. As reported by Essentially Sports, Djokovic receives around $20.6 million a year through sponsorship from Lacoste and other endorsement deals. Djokovic has accumulated $132 million in career prize money, the most in history.

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Disclaimer: The above Nadal and Djokovic net worth information is sourced from various websites and media reports. The website does not guarantee a 100% accuracy of the figures.