Rafael Nadal is not having an easy season and his retirement from professional tennis may be imminent. The former world number 1 confided that 2024 would be the last year of his legendary career, but did not rule out continuing to play in 2025 if he achieved good results.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion certainly did not shine this season, getting as best result the final on red clay of Bastad lost very clearly against Nuno Borges. The Spanish ace was eliminated in the first round of the French Open, greeting the crowd but without receiving any tribute from the organizers.
Rafa was hoping to win a medal at the Paris Olympics, but his run ended prematurely in both singles and doubles. In singles he was beaten in two sets by his eternal rival Novak Djokovic on the Philippe Chatrier court, while in doubles he lost in the quarterfinals together with his young compatriot Carlos Alcaraz against the dangerous Americans Ram and Krajicek.
Rafa is practicing
After deciding to skip the US Open and the Laver Cup, the former world number 1 has resumed practicing and should be ready for the ‘Six Kings Slam’. This prestigious exhibition will take place in Saudi Arabia from October 16 to 19 and will also include Djokovic, Alcaraz, Sinner, Medvedev and Rune.
Nadal wants to end his exceptional career on his own terms and will do his best to achieve a great result before he greets professional tennis. According to some insiders, Rafa could choose the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga as his last event perhaps playing a new doubles with Carlitos Alcaraz.
Rafa was called up by Spanish captain David Ferrer for the Davis Cup Finals in November, testifying to his willingness to help the team lift the trophy. “It’s a very personal matter; everyone retires as they wish. I can’t say what the perfect retirement would be. It’s very difficult to manage that. But as long as Rafa is happy, it’s good enough for me” – Ferrer explained in a recent interview reported by Malaga Hoy.
He continued: “I spoke with Rafa before we started competing in Valencia and before we qualified. He mentioned the idea and his desire to be there if we had the chance to qualify. The day after or two days after achieving the pass, we talked, and his intention was to be prepared and excited to be in Malaga. It was very easy, and it was he who initiated it and wanted to be in the finals from the very beginning.”
Rafa has had many injuries in the last two years and could not play as much as he would have liked. The Spanish legend has only played one Major this year and struggled to find the right sensations, although he admitted that his level has increased compared to a few months ago.
A new era
Nadal made tennis history with his huge rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. During a long interview with Sportskeeda, former NCAA player Mike Digby opened up on the Big 3: “It is difficult because they all bring an aura. I speak about this word a lot, like an aura to the tennis court. They have a strong presence but if I was blindfolded, they’re very different auras.
I would say Federer, you can feel his presence just through the pure quality of ball striking. So just the sound of the ball off the strings, the elegance that he brings when he does it, just the calm and class that he brings, you can just feel it. But on the flip side, Nadal would be someone that you can hear, right? His aura comes through what you hear through the heaviness of the strike, through the grunt, obviously, through the feet that you can kind of just hear him scurrying his feet.
Novak has a blend of those two. He has a bit more of an arrogance to him. And I love that about him. That’s genuinely not a negative comment at all. I think that if he didn’t have that, he wouldn’t be the Novak Djokovic that we all know. It makes him who he is. It makes him, in my opinion, the greatest that has ever played the game purely from a tennis standpoint. So yeah, if I was blindfolded, I think those would be my type of feel and hear really.”
Although Djokovic and Nadal are still active players, it can be said that an era has ended. Nole has not won a Grand Slam title this year for the first time since 2017 and for the second time since 2011, while Rafa does seem to be one step away from announcing his retirement.
