Rafael Nadal succumbed to injury – Kommersant

One of the most outstanding tennis players in the world, ex-world number one Rafael Nadal, who won 22 Grand Slam championships, including 14 at Roland Garros, will not be able to take part in this tournament, which starts in Paris on May 28, for the first time since 2005. What’s more, next season will almost certainly be his last. The 36-year-old Spaniard announced this at a press conference held at his academy in the city of Manacor, located in the Balearic Islands.

The reason for convening this press conference, which was broadcast live by one of the nationwide Spanish TV channels, was known in advance. On it, Rafael Nadal had to give clarifications on the issue of his participation in the French Open – the tournament that made him one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. The fact is that the injury of the left thigh, or rather, the iliopsoas muscle, disturbing Nadal since the beginning of the season has not healed so far. Losing in the second round of the Australian Open to the American Mackenzie McDonald, he did not play another match, including his favorite clay tournaments in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, ​​​​Madrid and Rome, in which he won a total of 35 titles since 2005. Now, as expected, for the first time in 19 years, the outstanding tennis champion had to withdraw from Roland Garros, where he won the most – 14 times, winning 112 out of 115 matches.

According to Nadal, the hope to still defend his last year’s title in Paris did not leave him until the last. But the situation with the treatment of injury did not develop as originally expected. In one of the latest amateur videos, filmed recently during the training of the clay king in Manacor, it was recorded that the pain never left him. Since winning the Roland Garros for the first time in 2005, Nadal has had at least 25 injuries that have required him to take time off. Only his right knee bothered him six times. However, the current situation is the most serious. Time almost does not heal the hard worker-veteran. Therefore, the doctors advised the former leader of the world ranking to change the tactics of treatment, and he will have to take the longest pause in his career.

“You cannot endlessly demand more and more from your body. There comes a moment when it throws out the white flag and says that it has had enough, even if your head wants to continue,” said the Spanish tennis player, who will turn 37 on June 3.

However, the message about missing Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and also, apparently, the US Open was not the only news that Nadal shared with reporters at his academy. Expressing hopes to get back in shape by the end of the season and play for Spain in the Davis Cup finals in Seville in November, he also said that next season will almost certainly be his last.

“Everything is possible in life,” said Nadal, who at the same time emphasized that he was “an optimist, not a dreamer” and could not yet imagine that his physical condition would change dramatically for the better. Therefore, at the moment, the Spaniard intends to try to make it worthy to perform next season by playing his favorite tournaments. “I didn’t deserve to end my career like this, at a press conference,” its only participant rightly noted, who is currently ranked 14th, but on June 12, the day after the completion of Roland Garros, will lose 2000 of 2535 points, available to him at the moment, and for the first time since April 2003 will be below the top hundred of the world classification.

This, however, is not the only consequence of Nadal’s decision, taken eight months after his retirement in September last year, was announced by his former rival and other outstanding tennis player – Swiss Roger Federer. It is obvious that the generational change in the elite men’s tennis, which has been talked about for the past few years, is approaching its final stage.

De facto, of the famous players who made up the so-called “big three”, only 35-year-old Novak Djokovic remains in the ranks. Although he, judging by the latest results, is not in optimal shape for Roland Garros, having recently suffered an injury to his right elbow.

However, even if the Serb fails to win in Paris, he will still have a good chance to still win the dispute for the sole possession of the most prestigious tennis record – the number of titles won at the Grand Slam tournaments. At the moment, Djokovic and Nadal have 22 such victories each, two more than Federer. At the same time, this season, the Serbian tennis player, who won the Australian Open in great style in January, will have not only Wimbledon, where he has not lost since 2018 and won a total of seven times, but also the US Open. And next year, he is unlikely to complete his performances. A joint farewell tour between Nadal and Djokovic would certainly be an extremely touching and emotional event. But it’s still unlikely.

Evgeny Fedyakov