If his place in the history of tennis and more broadly of sport is already well cemented, the future of "Rafa", just 36 years old, is shrouded in uncertainties and questions.

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The best player in history on clay?

After his demonstration against Casper Ruud, swept 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the final, Nadal became "Eternal", "the Sun King" or "Rafael XIV" for the Spanish press on Monday.

Rafael Nadal, the Musketeers Cup in his arms, on June 5, 2022 after his 14th title at Roland-Garros, won without shuddering against the Norwegian Casper Ruud in three sets, 6-3, 6-3 6-0 Anne-Christine POUJOULAT AFP/Archives

Ivan Ljubicic, the coach of his great rival Roger Federer, immediately proposed that the Central de Roland-Garros be renamed short Rafael Nadal: "There are no words to describe his series (...) A statue, that not enough," the Croatian manager tweeted.

With 14 titles at "Roland", the Spaniard has indeed more to his name than those accumulated by tennis legends like Rod Laver (2), Björn Borg (6), Roger Federer (1), Novak Djokovic (2 ) and André Agassi (1).

To measure his incredible superiority Porte d'Auteuil, a statistic: he won 112 victories for only 3 defeats, or 97.5% success.

Since the beginning of his career in 2002, he has scored 473 wins for 46 losses (91% success) on his favorite surface and has won 63 titles there out of his total of 92.

His supremacy is not limited to clay: he is the most successful player in the history of the men's Grand Slam circuit with 22 major tournaments, two more than Djokovic and Federer.

Not to mention his Olympic titles and five Davis Cup titles won with Spain.

No wonder that in 2020 Marca elected him the greatest Spanish sportsman in history, ahead of icons such as basketball player Pau Gasol, cyclist Miguel Indurain, footballer Andrés Iniesta or motorcycle rider Marc Marquez.

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Will he play at Roland-Garros again?

Nadal himself does not know.

The reason?

A painful pathology of the left foot which has accompanied him since he was 18 and which has disrupted his preparation for the Parisian tournament.

Rafael Nadal during his second round match against Frenchman Corentin Moutet on May 25, 2022 at Roland-Garros.

The Spaniard will then confide that he felt a very strong pain in his left foot Anne-Christine POUJOULAT AFP / Archives

"Obviously I can't and don't want to continue playing under these circumstances," he admitted on Sunday.

"The only thing we could do to give me a chance here was to put my foot to sleep (...) by giving anesthetic injections before each match," revealed the Spaniard.

The former world No.1, who rose from 5th to 4th place in the ATP rankings on Monday thanks to his Parisian triumph, suffers from Müller-Weiss syndrome, a rare pathology affecting the navicular bone (located on the back of the foot, between the talus and the cuneiform bones) of his left foot.

In the most serious cases and "in subjects who put a lot of strain on their feet, the bone will disintegrate, flatten, it can fragment and, in the end, this can evolve into osteoarthritis with a shortening of the plantar arch. “, explained last week to AFP Didier Mainard, president of the French Association of foot surgery and head of the department of orthopedic surgery at Nancy hospital.

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Will he be at Wimbledon?

The next flagship event of the season, Wimbledon, is scheduled from June 27 to July 10.

Winner twice (2008 and 2010) on the London turf, Nadal hopes to compete in the 2022 edition, especially since he won the first two major tournaments of the year, a first in his long career.

On July 4, 2010, Rafael Nadal won his second Wimbledon title against Czech Tomas Berdych.

"Wimbledon is a priority, I am ready to play there with anti-inflammatories but not with injections which anesthetize the foot", declared the Spaniard after his 14th coronation at Roland-Garros STEFAN WERMUTH POOL / AFP / Archives

But he has already warned: "Wimbledon is a priority, I am ready to play there with anti-inflammatories but not with injections which anesthetize the foot. I do not want to find myself in this situation again".

It could be quickly fixed with treatment "next week" consisting of "pulsed radiofrequency injections which could help decrease the feeling of permanent pain in the foot", he detailed.

There remains the more radical option of an operation, but it is not yet relevant: "To consider an operation which could improve the situation, but which would not guarantee me at all to be able to continue, I will have to understand everything", admitted Nadal, before leaving Roland-Garros as the winner.

For the last time?

© 2022 AFP