Rafael Nadal’s Potential Retirement Looms After Madrid Open Upset: What Lies Ahead for the Tennis Legend?

Rafael Nadal during the match against Jiri Lehecka at the Madrid Open, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernández)

Rafael Nadal’s tennis career is coming to an end. The Spanish tennis player, winner of 22 Grand Slams, among which he maintains the record of wins at Roland Garros, knows that he does not have much thread left in the reel and at 37 years old he is beginning to give signs of his end on the ATP circuit.

Although the Manacorí did not specify a date or a specific tournament to choose his retirement from the courts, he has expressed to the media that the end is near and that he will not appear in major competitions if he is not in optimal physical condition.

After his elimination in the round of 16 of the Madrid Masters 1000 against the Czech Jiri Lehecka, Nadal expressed to the public that filled the stands of the Caja Mágica, where the Atlético de Madrid coach, Diego Simeone, was also present: “I don’t want to Thank my family and the team because I am not retiring. I will do that the day I retire.”

Faced with the possibility of Rafa burning his last cartridges at Roland Garros or even at the Paris Olympic Games, an authoritative voice from tennis joined in to give his opinion on the subject. “We’ve seen what it’s like for 20 years. We know his champion mentality. As happened to Federer with Wimbledon, Rafa will only play in Paris if he believes he can go to the end. He’s not going to go there to make an appearance. If he said that he is going to do that, it would mean that he is not in good physical condition. Rafa knows very well what he needs, we will see if he can find the right sensations in the coming weeks,” explained former Croatian tennis player Iván Ljubicic in statements to the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

Iván Ljubicic during his playing days. The Croatian was Davis Cup champion in 2005

Ljubicic, who reached third in the world ranking and won the Davis Cup with Croatia in 2005, became a coach after his retirement and worked alongside Roger Federer, another of the sport’s legends who ended his notable career in September 2022 during the Laver Cup in London.

“That he has committed to playing the Laver Cup is positive, it means that he is looking forward, but we know that he is not going to play ten more years,” Ljubicic said and about the chance that Nadal will put aside his racket in the event that will be held in Berlin on September 20 of this year, he stated: “It is possible, but it is not probable.”