Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal is currently recovering from a hip injury that he sustained at the Australian Open – Toni Nadal provided update on Rafa’s retirement plans
Rafael Nadal‘s uncle Toni Nadal has hinted that the ‘King of Clay’ could retire very soon. Nadal has been out of action with a hip injury since the Australian Open earlier this year. He recently announced his decision to withdraw from the Indian Wells and the Miami Masters as well.
The Spaniard hasn’t played a match since his second-round loss at the Australian Open. Nadal is currently undergoing a full recovery and will look to be back in time for the European clay court season.
When asked about his nephew’s retirement plans, Toni said: “Madrid or Roland Garros. But I don’t know when it will happen. I don’t see him winning and retiring like Sampras did. He wants to keep playing.” However, Toni didn’t confirm if he plans to retire at the Roland Garros this year or in some later edition.
Nadal is in the twilight of his career and recently slipped out of the top 10 of the men’s singles rankings for the first time since 2005. The 22-time Grand Slam Champion has been in the Top 10 since April 2005 but fell to No.13 in the latest ATP rankings after being out of action for more than two months in 2023. It remains to be seen when Nadal makes a full-fledged comeback on the ATP tour before he announces his retirement.
Let us take a look at some of the reactions from fans on social media.
“Why do journalists keep asking these retirement questions? I mean let the guy play in peace and recover from his injuries and enjoy his greatness while we can. They’ll regret it once he retires”, wrote an offended fan.
“Nadal wants to keep playing because there is a certain person named Novak Djokovic who is still playing”, tweeted another fan.
“It has to be at the French. But again, you’d expect him to retire in front of his own people”, read a tweet.
“Depends how many wild cards he’ll get”, commented a troll.
Another fan wrote: “Slow rank decline will force it.”
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