Will Rafael Nadal be forced to retire?

This time Rafael Nadal should seize the perfect moment. One last “Vamos” for the home crowd and fans from all over the world. A final self-sacrificing fight for his own country before the 38-year-old finally hands over the baton to the new generation. When Spain plays for the Davis Cup title in Malaga at the end of November, the time seems to have come for the clay court king’s final farewell.

Nadal is in the five-man Spanish squad for the final round. Let’s see how much longer. “It is possible that he will be with us in November,” said team boss David Ferrer, cautiously optimistic before the nomination. The former professional also knows that Nadal’s injury-plagued body decides which tournaments the former world number one takes part in – or does not take part in. “I have suffered a lot the last two years,” Nadal said recently.

The Mallorcan had the perfect opportunity to say goodbye with dignity. Nadal has long been able to enjoy life as a tennis pensioner with his wife Xisca and son Rafael Jr. But the 14-time French Open winner didn’t take the chance when he triumphed in his living room in Paris in 2022.

Tip from Roger Federer

In the history books his final victory would have been recorded as his last match on his beloved Court Philippe-Chatrier. Instead, Nadal is struggling towards retirement and moving from one rejection to the next. Almost no one believed that Nadal would extend his tennis glory years for another season. The performances this year were too weak. Wherever Nadal competes, he will win titles. However, duels with Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros or with Novak Djokovic at the Olympics made it clear that Nadal is no longer in title form.

Speculation about the end of his career has accompanied the Spaniard all year round. “I come here and people ask me the same thing every day, and in the end it’s very difficult to get back to my best when I think about whether I’m going to retire or not,” he said recently in response to a reporter’s question.

Nadal’s question about the future also concerned the competition. “Everyone wants to know. “We’re all waiting to see what happens now and we’re all kind of excited,” said compatriot Carlos Alcaraz. If Nadal doesn’t return to the tour at all, Alcaraz could at least claim to have been close to the performance of his last idol. In the quarterfinals of the Olympics, the Spaniards were eliminated in doubles.

The 38-year-old had previously missed the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open this year. Nadal only took part in his beloved French Open, which he won 14 times – and lost to Zverev in the first round. “Everyone misses Rafa,” said the German and hopes for another season with the Spaniard.

His former long-term rival Roger Federer, however, encouraged Nadal not to delay his retirement forever. “Time eats away at you. In the end, it might be helpful to make a decision at some point. And then, when it’s over, you just relax again and say: Oh, luckily no training, luckily no more matches,” said the Swiss, who ended his career in 2022.

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In addition to his 14 victories at the French Open, Nadal also triumphed four times at the US Open and twice each at Wimbledon and at the Australian Open. He was number one in the world rankings for a total of 209 weeks and collected more than 134 million euros in prize money alone. Together with Federer and Djokovic, Nadal formed the “Big Three” that dominated men’s tennis for almost two decades.

But Nadal’s strenuous style of play takes its toll and injuries repeatedly set him back. He was particularly troubled by Müller-Weiss syndrome, a rare disease in which the bone tissue of the scaphoid bone in the foot skeleton dies. In mid-October, Nadal will take part in the lucrative show tournament in Saudi Arabia. As long as his body lets him.