Rafael Nadal issues telling retirement verdict after emotional speech to French Open crowd | Tennis | Sport
Rafael Nadal addressed his future after losing to Alexander Zverev in the first round of the French Open. The 14-time champion has skirted around retirement comments, refusing to commit to an end date for his career while confessing that he has likely made his final appearance at Roland Garros.
After giving an emotional speech to the crowd, the former world No. 1 laid out his intentions after his first-ever exit in the opening round in Paris.
Despite losing 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3, Nadal felt he “was not that far off” and “had his chances” against the world No. 4, who came in off the back of winning the Italian Open.
“I played I think at a good level in all ways, comparing to the way that I was playing the weeks before. So, happy for that. Of course disappointed for losing, but in terms of body feelings, happy that I finish healthy, you know, and I had a tough battle out there. And I was ready for a little bit more,” he added, before making a telling comment about his future in Paris.
“So that’s it. Accept the moment. If it’s the last time that I played here, I am in peace with myself,” he smiled, hinting that he may have already had his fitting French Open farewell. “I tried everything to be ready for this tournament for almost 20 years. And today and the last two years I have been working and going through probably the toughest process in my tennis career with the dream to come back here, no? At least I did. I mean, I lost, but that’s part of the business.”
While things are still unclear regarding Nadal’s future, there is one certain – he wants to play the Olympics, with the tennis event being staged at Stade Roland Garros. The 22-time Major winner continued: “I need to finish all this process. My mindset was ready ’til Olympics, you know, and then I need to check how I feel in different ways, I mean, in terms of personal motivation, body feelings, and then in terms of level of tennis it make sense to keep playing.”
It remains to be seen what Nadal will decide to do after Paris 2024 but it appears that, as long as his body holds up, he doesn’t see any reason to stop now that he has found his game again. Nadal, who turns 38 next week, explained: “For me the feeling of coming back home with the personal satisfaction to do all what’s in my hands to make the things work well, give myself everything, that’s the only way that I understand my life, you know.
“That’s why I am not saying I am retiring today. You know, at the end, it’s about not having the feeling in one year or one year and a half that, you know, I didn’t give myself a chance, a real chance, you know, because immediately that I started to become a little bit more healthier, I stop.”
And he’s still enjoying life on the tour, sharing his wish to keep going “for a while”. Nadal added: “So in terms what’s driving me, what’s the force behind driving me, I mean, as I said, I’m a simple guy. I enjoy what I do. You know, I am passionate about sport, I am passionate about competition. I like to practice, I like to play tennis. I’m in a different moment of my personal life too, travelling with my son, wife, you know. I am enjoying these moments that will not come back.
“So if I keep enjoying doing what I am doing and I feel myself competitive and healthy enough to enjoy, I want to keep going for a while. I don’t know for how long, but I want to keep going for a while, because they are having fun, I am having fun, and I need to see, I need to give myself a little bit longer chances to see if my level is growing and my body is holding, and then let’s make a decision.”
Despite dropping several hints about the future of his career, Nadal didn’t want to make anything official. “But give me two months till Olympics, and then let’s see if I am able to keep going or I say, okay, guys, it’s more than enough. Let’s see. I mean, today is not a moment to analyse all these kind of things. It’s a moment just to keep going, accept the moment, and let’s see what’s going on,” he said.
Nadal’s comments came after he delivered an emotional address to the French Open fans. “It’s difficult for me to talk,” he said on Philippe-Chatrier, the court where he has achieved the most success in his career. “I don’t know [if] it’s gonna be the last time that I’m gonna be here in front of all of you, honestly I’m not 100 per cent sure.
“But if it’s the last time I enjoy it, no? The crowd have been amazing during the whole week of preparations and today yeah, the feelings that I have today are difficult to describe in words. But for me it’s so special to feel the love of the people in the place that I love the most.”
