“I still think there’s a very good chance that this will be my last Roland Garros, that’s true, but I can’t say for sure. Luckily I can’t tell you yet. It’s good news. I don’t think there’s any need to organize a tribute on the pitch, everything will happen naturally with the crowd. It doesn’t mean that I necessarily have to close the door to what may happen in the future.”
These words shared by Rafael Nadal on the media day of the Roland Garros sparked the enthusiasm of the fans. The Spaniard has opened up to the possibility that this is not his last French Open; if he were to return to play there – for example – also in 2025, this would be a great gift for himself, for his fans and for all sports lovers. The Spaniard doesn’t want to be forced to say that this will be his last Roland Garros. The message shared at the press conference says that the Spaniard will do everything to give himself at least another chance to compete next year, if his body gives positive responses. And in the next days we will have the firsts true answers about his physical form and the state of his body.
“A week ago in Rome I was a bit of a disaster, losing 6-1, 6-3. Now, however, I feel better in everything, even physically. I had one of the worst possible draws against Alexander Zverev, and that doesn’t help,” he added.
For Rafa, there were also excellent signs during training, where he won more than one set against tennis players of the caliber of Daniil Medvedev and Sebastian Korda.
“Training tells me I’m not that far away. I’m not a person who deludes myself: I have to improve, that’s clear. But I was competitive in all the training sets played against excellent tennis players,” he analyzed.
The responses received this week are positive and the 22-time Slam champion doesn’t want to live with the regret of retiring, when he doesn’t feel that time has come. And so, his fans’ hopes of seeing him competitive again are growing, in what promises to be a very interesting edition of the Roland Garros.
“My body is responding well, better than I expected a month and a half ago. I’m not training with too much pain, the limitations I felt week after week, the ones that took away my hope of continuing, have diminished. If I continue like this, I can be competitive. I don’t want to be left with doubts. Maybe in four days or a month I will get hurt again and I will decide that it is not worth it. Today the situation is different, but experience tells me that there are chances that something will happen again.
There is a good chance that this will be my last Roland Garros, but I don’t want to force myself to say that it will be 100% like that. In Madrid it was the last time and it is a tournament in which I closed a circle. I want to give myself the opportunity to continue, drawing up a different calendar with different goals. I have the support of my family and I have to see where I can go,” he explained.
Rafa Nadal says he can’t say 100% this will be his last Roland Garros, he is able to play with less physical limitations, ‘If I have to tell you 100% if it’s my last Roland Garros, sorry, but I will not’
“Have you decided for sure whether this will be your final French Open?… pic.twitter.com/n4Z1s7z3Xn
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 25, 2024
Rafa Nadal says if he didn’t have hope to have a successful Roland Garros this year, he wouldn’t be here
“Given how special this place is, what emotions do you think you’re going to feel this week?
Secondly, what will it feel like to have your son watching you at this special… pic.twitter.com/dT15AIdlQF— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 25, 2024
Rafa Nadal says he’s more proud of the fact that he’s left a positive legacy as a human being than as a tennis player, ‘In some way, you can fake the crowd, you can create an image with the people who don’t know you on a daily basis, but you can’t fake an image with all the… pic.twitter.com/YLW6xWkjHv
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 25, 2024
