Rafael Nadal clearly has a retirement plan

Rafael NadalThe career of may really be approaching its end. The Spanish champion is taking all the time necessary to decide his future, but he has already announced that he will not participate in the US Open 2024.

The former world number 1 tried to give himself one last chance to return to competitiveness at a high level this year, but the verdict on the tennis courts was unequivocal. The 22-time Grand Slam champion no longer seems able to win the most important titles and his body is suffering from the many battles that have characterized his long career.

The Spaniard wanted to participate in his last Olympic Games in Pariswhere he was given the honor of being the torchbearer at the opening ceremony. Rafa was eliminated by Novak Djokovic in singles, proving to be far inferior to the Serb at that time.

Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz were eliminated by Americans Ram and Krajicek in doubles, having a good tournament but failing to win a medal. The future of the Spanish legend is very uncertain at the moment. Only his presence at the Wash Cup 2024 is certain, while some insiders believe he could make the Davis Cup finals later this year.

Rafa thinks about his future

Rafael Nadal has shocked the world many times during his legendary career, but this time it seems his decline is inexorable.

In a lengthy interview with Sky Sports, the former British star Naomi Broady discussed Rafa’s current situation: “Nadal clearly has a plan in mind but he’s keeping his cards close to his chest. I think Rafa still enjoys tennis a lot. They all love the sport so much and if he can continue, I think he would want to, that’s why I think he didn’t announce his goodbyes at Roland Garros.

I think he was thinking, ‘If there’s a chance, in any way, shape or form, I’ll come back here.’ But it’s just going to depend on his body and unfortunately his body isn’t playing along. Whether he chooses to do it at the 2024 Laver Cup like Roger Federer did and be able to have this really incredible celebration, worthy of his career, That would be amazing. I think a lot of people thought he would have chosen to celebrate this kind of thing at the Olympics – at Roland Garros on Philippe-Chatrier – and play for his country, but who knows? We just don’t know.

The Spaniard has not won any titles in 2024 and has reached only one final, on the red clay of Bastad, but he clearly lost to Nuno Borges.

Interview with “El Larguero”, former ATP ace and top analyst Alex Corretja He spoke about Rafa Nadal’s future: “The real concern now is to set an achievable goal to have the strength to train again. What if he helps the Davis Cup team in some way? Maybe by motivating himself to play doubles and bringing something to the team that in September would put him in the semi-finals and, maybe, if he goes to the final, he would play in November. How else can I train in Manacor with all the things that await me? For me that’s the problem..”

The Spanish legend has suffered a lot

Despite numerous injuries and missing many Grand Slam tournaments, the Spanish champion has made history in the sport by breaking numerous records. Many already thought that his career was close to its end in 2020-2021, before Rafa surprised everyone by winning the 2022 Australian Open and the 2022 French Open.

In the latest edition of his podcast, the former American ace Andy Roddick He suggested Rafa’s retirement could be imminent: “The Laver Cup could be a celebration. We’re all better when he’s there. I hope we see him in the big finals again. I don’t know.” It looks like this might be the end.

I’m certainly not like the greatest players of all time. I can’t understand, but I don’t know if he wants to compete for titles in Bastad. I don’t know if that’s his area. We’ll see. We don’t know what he’s going to do, we’re not part of his inner circle, but I have a hard time believing that he’ll make the effort and try to give Roland Garros another chance. But I’ve been wrong about him in the past and any analyst who has an opinion is just guessing.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion could decide to withdraw from his eternal rival Roger Federerwho played his final match at the 2022 Laver Cup at the O2 Arena in London.