Rafael Nadal, the incumbent winner of the French Open, has decided to withdraw from the competition in 2023 so that he may focus on getting better from an injury to his leg. In addition, he has dropped hints that the 2024 season might be his last.
As a result of Rafael Nadal of Spain withdrawing from the clay-court Grand Slam competition in the 2023 French Open, fans of the sport are likely to be underwhelmed by the competition. He stated that he might be taking a lengthy sabbatical from the sport for the remainder of the season before returning next season, which he hinted at perhaps being his last season on the circuit, and he also confirmed his decision on Thursday.
During the past four months, I have put in as many hours per day as I possibly could. Because we were unable to find a solution to my situation in Australia, the past few months have been challenging. I am still not in a situation where I can say that I am prepared to compete at the level that is required of me in order to play in Roland Garros. Nadal stated this while speaking at the Rafa Nadal Academy. “I am not the guy that will be at Roland Garros and try to be there and put myself in a position that I don’t like to be [in],” Nadal explained.
“Ever since the pandemic, my body has not been able to handle the routines and the constant work very well. Therefore, I was unable to enjoy the practises or the match itself because [there were] too many issues, too many instances in which I needed to quit play because of physical problems, and too many days of coming here to practise while suffering from too much agony’, Nadal explained.
“Okay, now that I’ve said that, I have to come to a conclusion. I had to pause here for a while. So, I decide to cease. I am unsure of when I will be able to return to the practise court, but for the time being, I shall pause my activities. Two months, possibly one and a half months, three months, possibly four months,” he said.
“I don’t know, I am not the guy who likes to predict a lot the future, so I’m just following my personal feelings and just following what I really believe is the right thing to do for my body and my happiness now,” asserted Nadal, as he has not yet played competitive tennis since the Australian Open earlier this year. Nadal has not played competitive tennis since the Australian Open earlier this year.
As Nadal began to discuss the possibility that the 2024 season may be his last, he stated, “I can’t say one hundred percent that [it is] going to be like this because you never know what can happen.” But, my plan and my drive are to try to enjoy and try to say goodbye to all of the events that have been significant for me in my tennis career during the [next] year and to try to enjoy that, being competitive and loving being on the court. This is my plan, and this is my motivation.
“[That is] something that is not conceivable in the modern era. If I keep going at this pace, I won’t be able to make that happen. It’s possible that if I stop, I won’t be able to make it happen, but I believe the likelihood of it happening will increase significantly if I do. My speech isn’t going to change now that Novak isn’t going to be competing in Australia as it did a couple of years ago when he wasn’t there,” he continued. “Of course, there are going to be a lot of really exciting matches at the event, and I can’t wait to watch those.”
“Tournaments will continue indefinitely. There is no question that Roland Garros will continue to exist even if I am not there because players come and go and the tournament remains the same. The competition will maintain its status as the premier clay court competition in the world, and there can only be one Roland Garros champion. “It’s not going to be me, [there is] going to be another one, and that’s just the way life is,” the 22-time Grand Slam winner ended.