The former coach of Rafael Nadal believes he shouldn’t be ruled out of contention for French Open glory this year despite his ongoing battle with injury.
Toni Nadal, who was the person that introduced his nephew to tennis, recently told Spanish broadcaster RTVE that it will not be long before the tennis star returns to action. Nadal hasn’t played on the Tour since his second round loss at the Australian Open to Mackenzie McDonald. He had been sidelined from action due to a psoas injury in his left leg. Initially, it was estimated that it would take him around eight weeks to recover but the rehabilitation process has taken considerably longer.
“Rafael is recovering, I think he is not long before he can compete again, but in this tournament (the Madrid Open) he could not be here,” Toni said during an interview with RTVE.
“This is one of the tournaments that he is the most excited to play but we will have to wait for another year.”
The 22-time Grand Slam champion faces a race against time to be ready for the French Open which will begin on May 28th. He could potentially begin his comeback at the Italian Masters in Rome which is the last big event to take place before the Grand Slam. There are also two ATP 250 events being held in Lyon and Geneva the week before Roland Garros.
Given the current circumstances, the odds appear to be against Nadal and his bid to win another French Open title. However, his former mentor isn’t counting him out of contention just yet.
“Obviously he is not going to arrive at Roland Garros with a good preparation, we do not have to fool ourselves,” he said. “Since January 10 he hasn’t played matches and he hasn’t competed for a long time.’
“Before Australia he didn’t play many matches either, but Nadal picks up speed right away and in a Grand Slam it depends a lot on the draw. If you are lucky enough to have an affordable draw in the first rounds, then anything can be”.
Nadal is the most decorated player in French Open history with a total of 14 titles to his name. Overall, he has won 112 out of 115 matches played at the event. His only losses were twice to Novak Djokovic in 2015 and 2021. The other player to have beaten him was Robin Söderling in 2008.
“I have said many times that they have interviewed me. Nadal in the second week (of a Grand Slam) is a favourite,” Toni commented.
As a result of his recent absence, Nadal is currently ranked 14th in the world.
