Tennis: for Nadal, 2024 could be the "last" year of his career

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal, 37, reaffirmed Monday that 2024 will "maybe" be the year of his retirement, after eight months of absence and two operations for his hip injury.

Spain's Rafael Nadal won his 14th Roland-Garros tournament on Sunday, June 5, 2022, against Norway's Casper Ruud. (Illustration). © Pierre René-Worms/RFI

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I said it's possible that 2024 will be my last year, I stand by it, but I can't confirm it 100% because I don't know. Rafael Nadal said in an interview with Movistar+ channel, saying he was "looking forward to playing again and being competitive again".

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But the idea is not to come back to win Roland Garros or the Australian Open. That people are not surprised, all this is far away, I am aware of the difficulties I face, "continued the Spaniard, 22 Grand Slam titles to the count, evoking his "age" and his "physical problems".

On May 18, Nadal withdrew from Roland Garros, a tournament he has won fourteen times, because of a left hip injury contracted at the Australian Open in January. On this occasion, he had already announced that "next year" would be "probably the last" of his career.

No frustrations...

On Monday, he also revealed that he had surgery on his psoas and hip a few months ago. "Would I have liked to be the tennis player with the most Grand Slams? No doubt. (...) But it does not frustrate me, "he also said, returning to the battle with Novak Djokovic, to become the player with the most Grand Slams won - "Djoko" has 24 - and saying that he does not make it "an obsession".

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I think Novak is experiencing this in a more intense way than I do," he continued, adding that the "frustration" of not achieving it would have been greater for the Serb.

Finally evoking Carlos Alcaraz, presented by many as his heir, Nadal judged that he had "the potential for everything". But "if I had to tell him anything, it would be to keep improving," he concluded.

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WithAFP

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