Rafael Nadal will hardly play the tournaments on the indoor hard court

Rafael Nadal‘s 2024 has not been satisfactory so far and the Spaniard is thinking very carefully about his future. The former world number 1 has proven not to be at the level of top players and has never been in contention to win a major title this year.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion was knocked out in the first round Roland Garros and in the second round at the Olympic Games in Pariswho suffered a clear defeat against his eternal rival Novak Djokovic (who won the match over the iconic Philippe Chatrier). The Manacor legend reached only one final in 2024, on the red clay of Bastad, but was clearly defeated by a great Nuno Borges.

Rafa will the US Open – the last Grand Slam of the season – and return to action at the Laver cup next month. This edition of the Laver Cup will take place in Berlin at the end of September and will also feature Carlos Alcarazwith whom Nadal played doubles at the Olympic Games in Paris (the two Spaniards were eliminated in the quarterfinals).

Rafa has started training again

Many fans and professionals believe that Rafa’s career is almost over. The former world number 1 has not achieved the desired results and his body has sent him very clear signals in the past two years. After a vacation, Rafa Nadal has resumed training and was photographed during a hard court training.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion’s goal is to be ready for the Laver Cup, which takes place in Berlin at the end of September. The Spanish legend’s future is uncertain, but Rafa wants to take all the time he needs before making a final decision.

“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 then we will see,” he said in an interview with MARCA. “I can’t think about that (retirement) all day long. I come here, and you ask me the same thing every day and in the end it is very difficult to get back to my best form when I think about whether I am going to retire or not,” he added. The former world No. 1 could potentially help Spain in the Davis Cup Finals at the end of the year, before he officially retires from professional tennis.

In conversation with Eurosport, ATP legend and top analyst Boris Becker discussed Rafa’s future: “It’s a very personal decision. Tennis is his livelihood and something he has been doing for so long with great success. We have to give him the time he needs. We are not in his shoesHe knows he is no longer playing at the same level as a few years ago, but he still loves competing.

We shouldn’t tell him what to do next. I hope it ends well. At some point, every individual athlete has to face the end. Here he had a perfect performance. The red carpet was rightly rolled out for him – an absolute sporting icon. People always talked about the Big Three – Nadal, Djokovic and Federer. They made tennis even more popular than the sport already wasthey took tennis to a new level.”

Nadal is a true legend

The Laver Cup is the only event that Nadal will definitely attend, while there is no definitive news about his future after that event. At the moment, it seems very difficult for the Spanish legend to play ATP tournaments on the indoor hardcourt.

In a new episode of his podcast, the former American ace Andy Roddick spoke about Rafa: “I find it hard to believe that he’s going to step it up and try again at the French Open, but I’ve been wrong about him before and any analyst who has an opinion, we’re just guessing. We don’t know, we’re not part of his inner circle.

I certainly don’t type like the best players of all time. I don’t understand it, but I don’t know if he wants to fight for titles in Bastad. I don’t know if that’s his path. We’ll see. We’re all better when he’s there. Hopefully we’ll see him in big finals again. I don’t know. It feels like this could be the end. Laver Cup could be a party.”

Rafa has many other passions besides tennis and he has always said that it would not be a problem for him to stop playing tennis at a professional level. Nadal has built a beautiful family over the years and sees her son growing up with great love.