Some assume that Rafael Nadal could retire at the 2024 Roland Garros, but he dismissed that ahead of his first match at the Italian Open.
Nadal attempted a few comebacks this year. The first one came in Australia, where he won a couple of matches before injuring himself. The second attempt happened ahead of the Indian Wells Open with the Netflix Slam exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz, after which he pushed back his comeback once more.
The third one happened at the Barcelona Open, where he won a match before losing to Alex de Minaur. He continued it at the Madrid Open and looked really decent, winning a couple of matches before losing to Jiri Lehecka.
He will now continue his comeback at the Italian Open, where he hopes to play well and further prepare for the Roland Garros. He certainly won’t retire there, despite many suggestions that he might do so.
“I can’t have a clear answer. First of all, I want to play Rome. That’s the tournament that I am today. I don’t think after that. If after that I feel ready to play Roland Garros, I cannot predict what kind of emotions I going to have there. I just want to enjoy every day. I am enjoying playing tennis, by the way.”
Obviously, his situation is very fluid right now because he could technically retire any day if something bad happens. It all depends on his body because he still feels joy when playing tennis and wants to play further, but there are limitations.
“Always depending on my body how far I can keep going in terms of timings, no? I am happy doing what I’m doing. When I’m talking about retirement, is not because I’m not happy anymore playing tennis or I’m not feeling myself competitive enough. That’s not the case. It’s about the body was not able to play weeks in a row, was not able to allow me practice and enjoy the practices in a daily basis.”
