Rafael Nadal’s decision not to play in the Roland Garros tournament, which he won for the first time in his career since his professional debut, fourteen times since his 2005 debut, heightens the bleak panorama of a year slowly conditioned by evolution. her iliopsoas injury for the left leg and a comeback yet to come.
Twenty-two big winners no longer think short-term. In the coming weeks, he will not be returning to competition in the coming months. until ready. It will not make announcements on a tournament basis. We don’t have to wait. The reigning champion will not play Roland Garros and neither will the latter. And he warns that 2024 could be his retirement year.
Until now, tournament was tournament, ever since he fell down injured in his second match. Australian Open, Loser against the American on January 18 Mackenzie McDonald, He planned turns to tracks that he had to cancel one after another.
The last, most recent and most painful, was that of Roland Garros, which he made public at a press conference given the enormity of the event. accumulated free time each week and uncertainty about his physical condition.
When the owner of the twenty-two thousand prize announced the news that he did not want to give, there was no video published on social networks, as in the last events he had to give up. But before the media, his manor academy, in a more direct way. No doubt. At a press conference.
discharge, starting sports and return to competition has no fixed date. It gives the feeling that time is endless and the year is empty for your interests. Empty months, still no light at the end of the tunnel. An initial estimate of six or eight weeks has been taken to four months for now.
Rafael Nadal returned to training a long time ago. Public images of its preparation are frequently return to activity. Every week it seems like the Spaniard’s comeback is getting closer. But days before one or another tournament he’s featured in on his poster, a new absentee official explodes with a statement.
This was the case with the most recent ones, especially those on land, which were calculated based on the first deadlines at which the return was determined. In Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and Rome. And now Roland Garros. Five regular events, including Doha, Dubai, and a tour of the Americas with the Masters 1000, again pinned to his schedule, which he left behind from the competition Indian Wells and Miami. Underestimated losses.
His plan included a comeback in early May. at the beginning of the clay season. He did not give time.
He is currently fixed at fourteenth in the standings by the ATP, having played only four matches so far this year. Nadal has only one win this year. In the first round of the Australian Open, he was against the British in Melbourne. Jack Draper. Then in the second collision everything became cloudy. Injured, could not cope mackenzie mcdonald and lost in three sets. This was his last match.
The 36-year-old Spaniard had arrived in Melbourne last year, playing only two friendly matches to defend the 2022 crown. was in united trophy. Both ended in defeat. First against the British Cameron Norrie and then against Australia Alex de Minaur. Something was no longer working.
Nothing made us think of a situation like a year ago. When Manacorí gets off to a flawless start to the season in 2022. One of the best of his career, with twenty-one wins in a row that led him to win every tournament he played: Melbourne, Australian Open and Acapulco. Until Indian Wells, where he played the final he lost. taylor fritzbefore having to sideline the current season with a rib injury.
It took two months for it to reappear. Inside Masters 1000 of Madrid. He also played in Rome and subsequently won Roland Garros. This was his twenty-second Grand Slam. Then at Wimbledon he again suffered a new disturbance. Nothing was the same anymore.
Federer tip
Nadal will meet on June 3 37 years It is customary for Spaniards to blow out candles as a tradition in Paris. He will make 37 in two weeks and this time he will have fun outside Roland Garros.
It will be four years less than Roger Federer’s. What Helvetian already counted when he ended his career in September of last year is that he said goodbye to competition, circuit and formality.
Basel tennis player could not, will reach 42 next August, neither with the passage of time nor with injuries. Due to illness, he spent more than one season without competition. Attempts to reappear and delayed returns.
He was unable to improve his condition as his participation in Wimbledon 2021 ended. left knee He had to be operated from here. This got him thinking. He arranged his farewell, fulfilled it, and closed the racket. It’s out of circulation.
Now Nadal has announced that he will not play for Roland Garros and will not play in the coming months. wants to be competitive. And he warns that his retirement will likely be in 2024. The Balearic Islands have identified the Davis Cup at the end of the year as the logical date for their return. And maybe next year, at 38, is the workout of the season. An Olympic year in Paris.
The defeat by Roland Garros will not make Nadal the first time since 2003 to enter the top 100 of the ATP rankings. the first rounds With Wimbledon ahead and six free months on the side, turf season is over. Until the improvement is evident and Balearic is as competitive as ever.