A farewell ceremony that was planned for Rafael Nadal at the 2024 Roland Garros has been cancelled, Roland Garros director Amelie Mauresmo has revealed.
Mauresmo explained Nadal wants to keep the door open as there may be a possibility of competing at French Open again next year.
Nadal has previously announced that 2024 would likely be the final season of his illustrious career but had not given a definitive timeline of retirement.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion who sits at 276 spot in the ATP rankings now, will take fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the R1 of the Roland Garros on Monday. Nadal is a 14-time Grand Slam champion and maintains an astonishing 112-3 win-loss record at the Parisian clay.
The former World No. 1 is making his first slam appearance since the 2023 Australian Open where he sustained a career-threatening hip injury that ended his season. Nadal made his long awaited-comeback in Brisbane in January 2024 but recurring physical issues kept him out until the clay season as he returned to action in the Barcelona ATP 500 at home in April.
Speaking on the first day of the 2-week event, Mauresmo, a 2-time major winner revealed that Nadal farewell tribute has been put on stand-by.
“As you can imagine, we had something planned for him, but he said [on Saturday] – he told us actually before yesterday – that he doesn’t know if it’s gonna be his last Roland Garros or not,” said the former world No 1.
“He wants to leave the door open for him maybe to come back next year as a player. So we’re not going to push him to do anything.
“It’s his decision when he wants to have a proper ceremony or proper goodbye and proper farewell. So we’re not going to do it this year.
“That’s his wish, even though we’re ready to push the button and something happens, we are obviously going to respect what he wants and make sure we are ready whenever he feels he wants to do it: later this year, next year, anytime he wants.”
In his pre-tournament presser, Nadal admitted this would probably be his final Roland Garros appearance, but stopped short of making a final decision.
“Is this my last Roland Garros? Probably yes, but I don’t want to say 100%,” said the tennis legend.
“I don’t want to close the door. This place is magical for me. I may say yes in a couple of months, but I feel better than a month and a half ago.
“I am enjoying and feel competitive in training. I can play against anyone and I don’t feel worse than others. That gives me hope. I progressed since Rome, especially in terms of movement. I can run without limitations now.
“I’m not anxious, I’m focused on trying to play. Maybe I will repeat the disaster of Rome but in my mind I’m going to give myself a chance to be competitive here. The answer will be on Monday.”