Rafael Nadal wants to end his illustrious tennis career on a high by clinching French Open but if things didn’t go his way in Paris he could make a U-turn on his retirement decision.
At least, this is the view of his uncle and former coach.
Nadal announced last year that 2024 season is likely to be his farewell campaign and has already bade bye to his loyal fans in the clay events this year. Ahead of the Roland Garros, there are major concerns about the 14-time champion’s participation at the prestigious clay tourney as he has still not fully recovered from the recurring hip injury back in January.
Toni Nadal who coached his nephew until 2017 and guided him to his first 16 major titles believes the 22-time Grand Slam champion will not drag his foot on Parisian clay unless he feels he is capable of bagging the title.
“He is not going to drag himself down, he remains confident because of his mentality and the way he is. He will not go to Roland Garros to lose in the second round, [he go] only if he believes he can win the tournament,” said the esteemed coach in an interview.
If the Mallorcan does end up winning the title in Paris then it could result in change of heart about his retirement from the sport.
“His dream finish would be to win Roland Garros and retire, but I think that, if he does, he will want to continue. He won’t retire,” the 63-year-old added.
Nadal lifted his last Grand Slam trophy at the 2022 Australian Open and before the tournament, there were also doubts about his participation as he struggled with Covid.
“He had had Covid-19 three days before travelling, but then he tested negative and still did not know whether to travel,” Toni said. “In the end he decided to go, starting with little preparation, and won the tournament.”
Following his early exit from the Italian Open, the 37-year-old divulged that he is still uncertain about his participation in the clay Slam.
“The decision, as you can imagine, is not clear in my mind today. But if I have to say what’s my feeling and if my mind is closer one way or the other way, I going to say be in Roland Garros and try my best,” the former World No. 1 stated.
“Physically I have some issues, but probably not yet enough to say not playing in the most important event of my tennis career.
“Let’s see what’s going on, how I feel myself mentally tomorrow, after tomorrow, and in one week. If I feel ready, I going to try to be there and fight for the things that I have been fighting the last 15 years, if now seems impossible.”