After eight months of absence and two operations, the Spaniard, 37, confided in an interview with Movistar “that it was possible that 2024 could be the last year.»
Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal, 37, reaffirmed on Monday that 2024 would be “maybe» the year of his retirement, after eight months of absence and two operations for his hip injury.
“I said it was possible that 2024 could be my last year, I stand by it, but I can’t confirm it 100% because I don’t know“, declared Rafael Nadal in an interview with the Movistar+ channel, claiming to be “looking forward to playing again and being competitive again“.
“But the idea is not to come back to win Roland Garros or the Australian Open. Don’t let people be surprised, all this is far away, I am aware of the difficulties I encounter“, continued the Spaniard, 22 Grand Slam titles on the clock, evoking his “age” and his “physical problems“.
On May 18, Nadal withdrew from Roland Garros, a tournament he won fourteen times, due to a left hip injury contracted at the Australian Open in January.
On this occasion, he had already announced that “next year” would be “probably the last” of her career.
On Monday, he also revealed that he had undergone surgery on his psoas and hip a few months ago.
“Would I like to be the tennis player with the most Grand Slams? Without a doubt. (…) but that doesn’t frustrate me“, he also said, returning to the battle with Novak Djokovic, to become the player with the greatest number of Grand Slams won – “Djoko” counts 24 – and claiming that he does not “an obsession“.
“I think Novak experiences this in a more intense way than I do“, he continued, estimating that the “frustration» not succeeding would have been greater for the Serb.
Finally mentioning Carlos Alcaraz, presented by many as his heir, Nadal judged that he had “the potential for everything“. But “If I had to tell him anything it would be to keep improving.“, he concluded.