Rafael Nadal‘s retirement from professional tennis was a devastating moment for millions of fans worldwide, but the legendary Spaniard is confident that the new generation is ready to lead tennis into a bright future.
Only Novak Djokovic remains from the trio of Nadal, Djokovic, and Roger Federer that dominated tennis for years. That makes it essential for younger players to step up and keep entertaining fans worldwide.
Although Alcaraz knows he will play many great matches with his rivals in the coming years, the 21-year-old does not rate his chances of developing any rivalries as epic as the ones Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer had with each other.
However, Nadal is not concerned about the future of tennis. In an appearance on Andy Roddick’s podcast, he praised Alcaraz and his family for being good people and thought Iga Swiatek‘s family and team were similar.
“Carlos is a great kid. Great guy with a very good family behind him, with positive values. Humble. They're good people. That's true. That's why I think Carlos is how he is. Because in the end, the values you receive at home, the way you're educated is the way that you show up. I see the same with Iga.”
Nadal also reserved praise for Sinner. The 22-time Grand Slam champion is impressed by the Italian’s resilience while there was uncertainty surrounding his case for testing positive for clostebol. During that time, Sinner won the 2024 US Open and the 2025 Australian Open.
“Jannik is another good guy. Not much of a show off. He's focused on what he's doing. Of course, he went through a very tough process the last year. It's amazing the way he was able to keep being focused on what he's doing.â€
Sinner is suspended until May 4th after settling his case with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The ATP world No. 1 was hesitant about settling because he felt innocent, and WADA themselves admitted that his case was a million miles away from doping.
Many reacted negatively to Sinner’s being allowed to resolve his case without facing an appeal hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but others, including Nadal’s uncle Toni, have defended him.
Nadal also does not seem to hold any animosity towards Sinner. The Spaniard thinks he, Alcaraz, and Swiatek are among the new generation of players who will ensure that tennis continues to grow worldwide.
“It's a new generation of great tennis players. I think they're going to keep helping this beautiful sport to grow and to engage fans.”
While it is impossible to be absolutely certain based on interviews and media appearances, Nadal seems to be coping well with retirement. He ended his career in November at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals after Team Spain lost to Team Netherlands in the quarterfinal.
Nadal has said he is living mostly pain-free after suffering from constant physical problems in the last few years of his career. Retiring before he damaged himself to the point of being in permanent pain was undoubtedly the correct decision.
