Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the final Grand Slam tournament of the season and here’s why.
The case Rafael Nadal has been one of the soap operas of the 2024 tennis season. Since his return home to the Barcelona tournament after several months of absence, the presence of the 38-year-old Majorcan on the courts has been the main question at the start of each tournament. After having played in Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros, Nadal had decided to skip the grass season to prepare for the Olympic Games in Paris.
Visibly weakened by a left thigh injury, Rafael Nadal was eliminated in the second round by Novak Djokovic, before going out in the doubles with Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals. We could have expected to see the Spaniard finally play several tournaments with the return to the United States and the US Open, which he has won four times. But the latter preferred to give up, explaining that he “wasn’t sure he would be able to give 100%.” The cause, this thigh injury that prevented him from fully participating in the Olympic Games, and that he has now been dragging around for several weeks without being able to get rid of it.
Although he said after the Olympics that he “doesn’t think about retirement every day”, the prospect of seeing Rafael Nadal again at a Grand Slam tournament is fading. “I’ve suffered from a lot of injuries in the last two years, so if I feel that I’m not competitive enough to continue or not physically ready enough, I’ll tell you.” In a communication that is as measured as ever, the Spaniard announced that he would be returning to the courts for the Laver Cup at the end of September, but remains measured for the future, and in particular the end of the season. “When I know, you’ll know, I’m in no hurry to make a decision about my future. What is certain is that I will be at the Laver Cup and after that, we’ll see,” he told Brand while he had come to watch the match between Mallorca and Real Madrid, his two favourite teams.