‘The Problem in Tennis Is That We Don’t Have a Ruling for That’ – Rafael Nadal Explains Why He Called the Supervisor Into the Court

Following his semifinal win at the Indian Wells Masters 1000, Rafael Nadal opened up about the extreme weather conditions that made it almost impossible for the players to play. Being in a devastating form since the start of the 2022 season, the World No. 4 took 3 hours and 12 minutes to beat Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Following his semifinal win, he will now face 20th seed, Taylor Fritz for a title match. Nadal is eyeing his 4th Indian Wells title, as well as that of the 2022 season.

Both the players had to face extreme weather conditions, making it seem almost impossible for them to play at their highest level, especially in the second set. Nadal and Alcaraz experienced heavy gusts of winds throughout the match. However, that wasn’t the only thing. Heavy winds were followed by a sandstorm as well.

Nadal’s perception about the ruling for heavy winds

During the post-match press conference, Nadal was asked whether he felt that the match should have been suspended owing to unfavorable playing conditions.

Answering the question with complete authority, Nadal put forward his views about the non-existence of rules for situations of extreme weather conditions. “The problem in tennis is that we don’t have a ruling for that. There is no ruling for wind. There is no ruling saying after ‘x’ miles an hour we suspend the match.”

Even though players find it frustrating to play in heavy winds, that’s not the case with Nadal. Instead, he opined he enjoys such challenging situations. He also spoke about what are the things that make it unplayable for him in such conditions.

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“I’ll tell you one thing. I enjoy a lot of times playing in the wind because for me it’s like a challenge. It’s like playing golf with a lot of wind. You know you’re going to have mistakes, the level will not be that high, but it’s about trying to find solutions all the time. The only thing I don’t enjoy is when we have to stop all the time because some papers are in, then the net is moving, then the towel is flying. So then it becomes unplayable for me.”

Nadal’s take on the Sandstorms

Even though the strong winds played a vital role in hampering both the players’ performances, it wasn’t the only extreme condition. Another thing that affected the players’ performance at large was the sandstorm. Providing his views on how the sand affected him, Nadal said, “Another tough thing today in my opinion was sand. There was a sandstorm all day. It was not only about the wind. On the eyes it became very very difficult because I started to feel sand on my eyes and it was hurting a little bit. That’s the main thing.”

As far as missing rules for such extreme weather conditions are concerned, Nadal expressed his strong opinion on the importance of having such rules in place.

“I can’t tell you if I believe I have to suspend, I just say it to the supervisor. I really believe that there are things that we can fix on our sport. But this is probably one of the things we don’t have in terms of the ruling but for some situations, maybe we can add that to the books. For example, sandstorm, then it’s a little bit tough for the players.”

Rafael Nadal vs Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells Finals

Nadal is eyeing his record-equaling 37th Masters 1000 title and will lock horns against Taylor Fritz in the final in Indian Wells. In their only clash so far on the ATP tour, the 21-time Major champion dominated Fritz 6-3, 6-2 in Acapulco in 2020. The American has made huge improvements in his game since then.

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However, seeing Nadal’s form since the start of the 2022 season, the Spaniard looks in top form to win the title.