Rafael Nadal Confirms French Open Withdrawal, Return Unknown, Plans 2024 Farewell Tour

Sad but not surprising. I have my doubts we’ll see Rafa in 2024 but I hope I’m wrong.

If this is the end, it’s been a great ride. He re-defined mental toughness. You’d have to go to basketball (MJ) or golf with Tiger Woods to find someone of comparable mental make up in a major sport.

May 18th, 2023 at 12:37 pm

^Agree!

May 18th, 2023 at 2:27 pm

@SG1…….TRUTH! I think the players who get injured are too eager to get back on the court. I personally don’t think Rafa should have picked up a racquet for two months, just do some light rehab. I know they have specialists they depend on to give them proper direction on their injury. But I bet the player overrides their decision. Hitting the practice court too soon just aggravates the problem more. Obviously his injury was worse than they first thought. Plus age isn’t on his side either.

May 18th, 2023 at 3:32 pm

All good things must end.
No one will say “The things Rafa could have done, if only…. he tried harder”.
Not done yet, but they are ending.

May 18th, 2023 at 4:02 pm

“You’d have to go to basketball (MJ) or golf with Tiger Woods to find someone of comparable mental make up in a major sport.”

No you don’t have to go to basketball or golf, you can stay in tennis, there is one player that is better regarding “mental toughness”, which he proved time and time again, even you don’t want to mention his name.

May 18th, 2023 at 4:09 pm

^ wrong thread for the angry one.

May 18th, 2023 at 7:30 pm

“…wrong thread for the angry one.” ?!

You must be looking in the mirror?

This thread is about arguably the second best player in the history whose career was “cut short” at the age of 37. His fans should celebrate his career.

He is announcing farewell tour next year, doing the same what Roger was doing just far more open, fulfilling contractual duties towards his sponsors and milking some more $$$. Let’s face it, he is hardly playing since FO last year.

Nole is the last man standing and is to follow soon, he’ll have a go at Wimbledon and won’t drag his feet like the other two when he calls it a day.
I am throwing party for Nole’s retirement, it’s going to be pig on the spit for that occasion, I mean, the best ever (or The GOAT) deserves proper farewell, doesn’t he😉
Sorry Zed, I am not as optimistic as you are, he is emotionally drained and can’t be motivated by the kids 15 years his juniors, no Roger no Rafa and motivation is down, maybe Wimbledon and that’ll be it, the race is over, the winner is Nole.

May 18th, 2023 at 8:21 pm

WB, I agree, I feel it too, how hard it is to keep going and I’m not even the one doing all the training, all the travelling, going through all the pain.

I think he will have enough motivation to go for one more Aus Open and therefore by default he will play the next USO and probably ATP final.

But if he does win Wimbeldon this year and does win the AO next year then it’s only 6 months to the next Wimbeldon, maybe that’s where he will draw the line, same age of 37 as Rafa.

Whatever he decides I’m sure it will be a family decision, wife, father, mother etc, all will contribute to deciding.

May 18th, 2023 at 8:50 pm

Zed, he’ll go until Olympics next year in Paris, that’ll be his last hurrah.

May 18th, 2023 at 11:38 pm

If you stayed on point about Rafa all good but you could not. You had to mention the angry one:

https://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2023-05-16/36197.php

May 18th, 2023 at 11:41 pm

That Southafrican, Newzeland and British citizen deserved to be belted for his behaviour during the mach, Nole was too good to him, just gave him one looong stare and cold handshake.

May 18th, 2023 at 11:52 pm

I can’t believe Novak is talking about another player’s behavior on court. I mean, we’ve seen him breaking racquets, screaming, chewing out the ball kids and hitting a lines person. Really?? Pot, kettle, black. C’mon, Novak, suck it up!

May 19th, 2023 at 1:15 am

I love Rafa. It would be wonderful if he can heal and then have one last great season, but his body has a way of injuring something new all the time. We shall see.

Will Novak get to 23 Slams? We all assume he will, but the young guns are giving him real problems this year. So far, in 2023, he has lost to Musetti, Rune, Medvedev. Maybe he will return to dominance after the clay season . . .

May 19th, 2023 at 11:09 am

I don’t know player that had so many distractions in his career as Nole had, some of them selfcreated as this one.

For a last few months he was struggling to make decision about the future of “Novak Tennis Centre” in Belgrade, so finally his (and his wife) company, with heavy heart, decided to return it to the city of Belgrade, that means that Serbia Open is gone too. From the 1st of June they are shutting down and all employees were informed to look elsewhere for the job and facilities are returned to the city to do what they are pleased to.

Those tennis courts and facilities were originally leased to his father and uncle company in 2009. under certain conditions, Novak and Jelena company took over in 2016 with big ambitions but lease was never properly put together and it was too many gray areas.

In order to succeed in Serbia you have to be good with political party that is in power and to be willing to pay protection racket to the very same political party.

Hopefully now he can concentrate on year or two that is left in him to play, it was obvious for the people that follows him that something was bothering him these last two months and also is clear why he moved Serbia Open to Banja Luka this year.

There is one thing that my people, that I dearly love, are know for and that is that they will never forgive you success, sad but true.

May 19th, 2023 at 5:38 pm

^^^

https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Novak_Djokovic/132844/novak-djokovic-issues-statement-on-decision-to-close-novak-tennis-center-in-belgrade/

May 19th, 2023 at 5:49 pm

If anyone looks at the Big 3 objectively, I think it would be near impossible to argue that Djokovic is not the GOAT. His slam count, ATP 1000 record and record against his two (maybe three) main rivals almost certainly affirm his place as the GOAT. Then there’s the fact he’s one of the few to beat Nadal and clay as well as his record against Roger at SW19.

With all of the above said, I don’t know how anyone can claim that Novak is better than Nadal mentally. Any person claiming that has no credibility as a poster and just comes off as a fanboy. I’ve seen Rafa lose a lot of matches over the years but I never saw him lose a match because he gave up. That’s an incredible accomplishment over a 20 year career. More than that, you never see Nadal scream at his box or break rackets. His mind is more disciplined than Novak’s…plain and simple.

Novak’s mental game didn’t really ramp up until 2011. Until then, he was marginal mentally compared to his biggest rivals. Even after 2011, he had moments of mental weakness that were visually apparent. Being the GOAT doesn’t mean you’re perfect. Between the ears, Novak is more like the rest of us than Federer and Nadal and the fact that he sits atop the mountain should make us all feel good.

May 24th, 2023 at 1:27 pm

SG1,

Better go back and watch the 2015 Quarterfinals match against Djokovic at the French Open. Even one of the commentators said it, if not both of them during the match. I can’t remember the exact wording. But Nadal looked defeated before he was defeated.

May 29th, 2023 at 2:38 pm