- Nadal announced in June that he would retire after the French Open in 2024
- He injured his left psoas at the 2023 Australian Open loss in the second round, and he hasn’t returned to the season since then
- The former world No. 1 then made an attempt to make a comeback during the clay season
Days after tennis star Rafael Nadal spoke about playing beyond 2024, veteran coach Patrick Mouratoglou says he may still retire as planned if he fails to win a Grand Slam.
Nadal announced in June that he would retire after the French Open in 2024. He had just undergone surgery after a longstanding hip injury that pushed him out of the 2024 ATP Tour.
He injured his left psoas at the 2023 Australian Open loss in the second round, and he hasn’t returned to the season since then.
The former world No. 1 then made an attempt to make a comeback during the clay season, but he eventually admitted that his body wasn’t responding to therapy and said that he would return in 2024 for what would probably be his final season of competition.
Rafael Nadal Australian Open. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
The Spaniard at the time said he would play the French Open as his last tournament and walk away. However, he seems to have had a change of heart saying that he may play beyond 2024.
He notes that if his physical form changes before November 2023, he could play longer than the 2024 season.
“I said that possibly 2024 will be my last year,” Nadal told. “I stand by that, but I can’t confirm it 100 per cent. I think there’s a good chance that it will be, because I know how my body is but how I’ll be in four months, I don’t know,” he said.
However, if he doesn’t recover, he will call in time in tennis and move on. Nadal is prepping for his comeback in his tennis career and he is happy that he is recovering well from an injury he underwent an operation for early this year.
Rafael Nadal. Photo/ATP Tour
Nadal is currently training at his Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca. However, Mouratoglou believes that his tennis comeback may be postponed if he isn’t competitive enough to win championships.
“Will he be ready to win the Australian Open? Probably he’s going to be short. He wants to see if he’s able to win a Grand Slam still or if he’s far. If he’s far from the feeling that he can win a Grand Slam, he will probably stop,” he wrote on his Instagram page.
Mouratoglou, who has coached Greek tennis players Stefanos Tsitsipas and Simona Halep in the past, encouraged Nadal to continue competing as long as he felt he would win.
“I don’t think he’s going to play just to be No. 20 in the world. But if he feels he can still [win], I think he will continue. Again, unless he has an injury that we ignore.”
Despite all this, the French coach feels that Nadal still has a good chance to win his 15th title.
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