Rafael Nadal legacy concerns raised by close ally with schedule up in the air
Rafael Nadal is yet to confirm his next move after representing Spain at the Olympics.
Spanish tennis great Alex Corretja has warned that it will be ‘almost impossible’ for Rafael Nadal to play at the US Open after taking part in the Olympics. Nadal lost to Novak Djokovic in the second round of the men’s singles event at Roland Garros and teamed up with Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s doubles. The 38-year-old is widely expected to retire at the end of the season but is yet to reveal when he will bring the curtain down on his glittering career. He recently appeared on the entry list for the US Open but later admitted that he could skip the tournament after his Olympic farewell.
Corretja has since expressed doubt over Nadal’s participation at Flushing Meadows, suggesting that he would need to play in Cincinnati before the US Open to avoid struggling with the change to hard courts. However, he added that Nadal could feature for Spain in the Davis Cup later this year. “For the US Open on a fast court? You can’t get there without having played on a hard court in New York,” Corretja told El Larguero. “Is he going to go to Cincinnati in 10 days with the change of surface again? I see it as almost impossible.
“He has to find a place where he says: ‘This is as far as I want to go and it is worth making that effort, like up to the Laver Cup’. What if he helps in one way or another in the Davis Cup team, maybe motivating himself to play doubles? “[He could] contribute something to the team that in September would put him in the semis and, maybe, if he goes to the final, he would play in November. If not, how do you train in Manacor now thinking about what I am preparing for? For me, that is the problem.”
Nadal has already confirmed that he will take a short break from tennis before announcing his next move after a busy summer period. Speaking before the Olympics, he did not give much away but insisted that he would play at the Laver Cup in September. “Nothing is linear in this life,” he said. “There are moments and states which normally go hand-in-hand with physical states. I try to enjoy and live what I feel at each moment, always with a positive vision of what my day-to-day is within my possibilities.
“After this, I am going to take some time to think carefully about what I need for myself as a person, what I really want to do. I will play the Laver Cup. After the Games, I will take some time to think carefully about what I need.”
