Rafael Nadal ‘is going to play in Paris’ according to Uncle Toni
Rafael Nadal will definitely be playing at Roland Garros this year according to his uncle Toni Nadal, despite their being doubts over his fitness.
Nadal has not played a competitive match since his early second round exit at the Australian Open, to which he later revealed was a grade two tear to his psoas.
The usual recovery time spans eight weeks, however the Spaniard has since revealed that he was unable to give a time frame for recovery as the injury had not healed as expected.
Hola a todos. Hace un tiempo que no me comunico directamente con vosotros. Han sido unas semanas y unos meses difíciles. Como sabéis me hice una una lesión importante en Australia, en el Psoas. pic.twitter.com/m0TbsGFn5t
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) April 20, 2023
Nadal appears to be facing a race against time to make his ‘favoured’ major with Roland Garros beginning on the 28th May, and his former coach of 27 years Toni Nadal believes he will be able to do so.
‘‘He is going to play in Paris, how he trains in the coming weeks and what he can do in Rome will be important to measure his aspirations there,” claimed Toni Nadal.
Toni Nadal, who is now coach to Felix Auger-Aliassime, also added that his nephew is not considering retirement as suspicions grow on the 36-year-old’s future on the tour.
“He is not thinking about retiring, he just wants to recover well and continue competing because he is passionate about this sport,” said the 62-year-old.
With little competitive play and increasing tournament absences, including the latest withdrawals from Barcelona and Madrid, there are doubts over Nadal’s Roland Garros ambitions.
The 14-time champion at the Paris major has yet to participate in a clay court match this season, and has played only four matches in 2023.
Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros
Nadal has only ever lost 45 career matches on clay, with a win record of 91.3% on the surface.
His record at Roland Garros is even more impressive, as he has a 97.4% win record, with only three defeats in his 115 matches.
Here are Nadal’s three rare defeats at the clay major:
2009 – Nadal lost in the fourth round to Robin Soderling (23), 2-6 7-6(2) 4-6 6(2)-7
2015 – Nadal lost in the quarter-final to Novak Djokovic (1), 5-7 3-6 1-6
2021 – Nadal lost in the semi-final to Novak Djokovic (1), 6-3 3-6 6(4)-7 2-6
All eyes will be on the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s form and fitness level at the upcoming Italian open due to kick off on the 8th May.
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