The world of tennis knew what was coming on Thursday afternoon when 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal held a press conference at his academy.
Four months have passed since the Spaniard last played a competitive match due to a hip injury that originally had a prognosis of 6-8 weeks of recovery. However, the weeks turned into months and still, he is nowhere near to returning to the Tour. Resulting in his withdrawal from the French Open this year after 18 consecutive appearances.
“It is not a decision that I make, but a decision that my body makes,” Nadal told reporters on Thursday.
“I have no intention of continuing to play for the next few months. In recent years, although the results have been of my first level, my day-to-day life has been at a very low level. Although victories remain abroad At the level of daily work, the years after the pandemic have been very difficult.”
“They have been difficult years although the victories mask it. I make a point and part. At this point, without being prepared to be able to compete at the level I need. I have to put a point and aside to my sports career. I am going to try to regenerate my body. I’m not going to set a return date. When I’m ready, I’ll try to be there.”
The most sobering thing about Nadal’s latest press conference wasn’t anything to do with the upcoming major tournament at Roland Garros. It was the first time he has spoken so candidly about ending his record-breaking career for good with 2024 likely to be when he does so. Another reminder that even the immortals of tennis have an expiration date.
“I don’t like to predict the future so I’m going to follow my feelings and what I think I should do for my body and my own happiness,” Nadal explains. “Next year will probably be my last year on the pro tour. It’s the idea though I can’t say 100 per cent because you never know what can happen but my idea is to try to try and say goodbye to all the important tournaments for me in my career.”
Introduced to tennis by his uncle Toni as a child, Nadal blossomed and excelled at a young age. He was just 15 when he made his ATP debut at the 2002 Mallorca Open. The following year he cracked the top 100 for the first time before claiming his maiden Tour trophy at the 2004 Orange Prokom Open in Poland.
The early success paved the way for Nadal to establish himself as statistically one of the most successful players in the history of the sport. His current ATP title tally of 92 is a benchmark that has only been surpassed by four other players in the Open Era. He has spent 910 consecutive weeks in the world’s top 10 which is a record and earned more than $134M in prize money.
Undoubtedly it is the clay of Roland Garros where Nadal is known for his greatest achievement. Out of 115 matches played, he has only been beaten twice by Novak Djokovic in 2015 and 2021, as well as once by Robin Soderling in 2009. He has won the La Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy an incredible 14 times. His dominance was recognised by officials in 2021 when a statue was built in his honour which is a rare achievement for an active player.
“Without a doubt the tournament is going to keep being the best event in the world of clay,” Nadal commented on his beloved French Open. “And there’s going to be one Roland Garros champion, it’s not going to me, it’s going to be another one. And that’s life.
“The tournament is going to be for sure a big success without me. Players stay for a while and they leave, tournaments stay forever.”
Alongside the success, there have also been challenges for the 36-year-old who has contended with various injury setbacks. During his 20-year career, he has missed 11 Grand Slam events and withdrew from another five due to a physical issue. He has suffered from issues related to his back, wrist, abdominal, and hamstring. He also lives with a long-term foot condition called Mueller-Weiss syndrome. According to the sports newspaper Marca, since 2003 he has experienced some form of injury issue during 14 separate seasons.
Yet like others such as Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, such adversity only spurred Nadal on to work harder and improve his game further. However, it was never going to last forever, just ask Federer who played the Spaniard 40 times on the Tour. With the Swiss maestro, it was a knee injury that closed the curtain on his career and prevented him from ending it how he wanted to. Something Nadal hopes will not be the case for him.
“I would like to give myself the option of competing on a tennis court, feeling like a good-level player and fighting to win matches. I would like to fight to win the big tournaments. Whether that is a viable reality or not we will see.” Nadal replied when asked how he hopes to end his career.
Now it is just a waiting game to see when Nadal will return to the Tour with his eyes set on a possible return to action later this year at the Davis Cup. There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding him at present but one certain thing is that his career is coming to an end and so is an era of men’s tennis.
