MUMBAI: Apart from taking a forced break and re-connecting with their families, grounded tennis players are using the time during the worldwide lockdown to expand their horizons. With the tennis tour suspended at least till July 13, former Wimbledon semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov will be going back to school.
"I'm starting a course at Harvard Business School in a few weeks," the 28-year-old Bulgarian wrote on the official ATP website. "It's something I've always wanted to do. I loved being in school, but haven't had the chance to experience it to the extent that I would have wanted to. Now I have the time to do something new and different."
Dimitrov, who stayed back in California after Indian Wells was cancelled, recently donated ventilators to the hospital in his hometown of Haskovo to help in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Even though he isn't training for tennis anymore, the Bulgarian said he prefers to be productive and active.
"Tennis players are creatures of habit, so I still make sure to structure my day," he wrote. "Go to bed on time, wake up early, be productive in the morning. I'm a crazy fanatic when it comes to laundry and have been doing that twice a day. Eating well is just as important now, but I'm letting myself be a little bit loose and sometimes have things that I wouldn't necessarily eat while competing. I've been really good at making chocolate chip cookies lately!"
The coronavirus pandemic, which started in China in December, has brought the entire world down to its knees. So far, it has claimed more than 89,000 lives and more than 1.4 million have tested positive for it. The pandemic has forced a re-think, and Dimitrov hoped that better times are around the corner. "The time off has been great in some ways because it's given me perspective about what I want to do in the future, after tennis, and some things I want to do off the court," he added.
"We now have a pause where you can let yourself be, put your guard down and let your mind wander. Hopefully, we only have a little bit more of this to go. I hope everyone can get out of this safely. I'm sure that we're all going to resume what we love doing soon, but health is the most important thing right now."