Rafael Nadal has divulged that his 2024 comeback could only last for “half a year” and there are overwhelming chances that next year will be his final season.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion insisted that he does not want to outline something specific about his retirement as this draws down to how his physique behaves in the coming year. Out of action since suffering a hip injury in the Australian Open loss against Mackenzie McDonald back in January, Nadal underwent surgery to cure the injured muscle but couldn’t recover in the initially estimated time of 6-8 weeks.
The former World No. 1 was forced to delay his planned comeback in the European clay court swing and missed his beloved French Open for the first time since 2004. Last week, the Spaniard announced that he will return to action at the Brisbane International in January ahead of 2024 Australian Open.
In a video shared by his social media accounts, Nadal revealed it was very likely that 2024 would be his final season on the tour although he did not rule out the prospect of playing longer if his body allows him.
“It is a reality, there are many chances that it will be my last year without any doubt. There are chances that it may only be half a year, there are possibilities it may be a full year, that we may not be able to reach all that,” said the 37-year old.
“These are things right now I do not have the capacity to be able to answer, this is the truth. I am only in conditions to say that I return to compete, that I continue having in my head that the normal thing, or that there are many possibilities that it is my last year, and I am going to enjoy the tournaments in that way.
“I do not want to announce it because in the end I do not know what can happen and I have to give myself the opportunity not to say one thing and then I can be a slave of what I have said.
“I think it is going to be like that, but I can’t be 100% sure because in the end I have worked a lot to come back to compete and if suddenly things and my physique allows me to continue and enjoy what I do – why am I going to set a deadline? I think it makes no sense.”