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Rafael Nadal - Roland Garros 2024
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Rafael Nadal: I’m not paying much attention to the retirement thing


Rafael Nadal has spoken ahead of the final event of his career, claiming that he is ‘not worried’ about moving on from professional tennis.

Nadal began his illustrious career back in 2001, and has since gone onto win 22 Grand Slam titles, 36 Masters 1000 trophies, two Olympic gold medals and four Davis Cups with Spain.

The Mallorcan will be bidding for a fifth Davis Cup title in Malaga this week, in what will be the final tournament of his career before retiring.

Despite a lot of the focus being on Nadal’s pending retirement, the man himself has suggested that he is fully focussed on winning the title for Spain.

“If I’m on the court, I hope to control my emotions. I’m not here to retire,” explained Nadal. “I’m here to help the team win. It’s my last week in a team competition and the most important thing is to help the team.

“The emotions will come at the end. Before and after, I will be focused on what I have to do. I feel good, I’ve been thinking about it for quite some time. I’ve been trying to give myself a chance and I decided over time.”

The 38-year-old added, “I’m enjoying the week. I’m not paying much attention to the retirement thing. It will be a big change in my life after this week. I’m very excited and happy to be here.”

It is unclear as to what Nadal’s role will be at the Davis Cup Finals, with Spanish captain David Ferrer having a dilemma on his hands on whether to play the former No.1 in singles and/or doubles.

In his pre-tournament press conference Nadal was also asked about his life post-tennis, but did not seem too phased about moving away from the sport.

“I am not worried about the next chapter in my life,” admitted Nadal. “I have been always happy without tennis, and I had a lot of moments in my life that I was not able to play tennis because of injuries, so I spent a lot of months doing other things. Is true that during recovery so now is a different approach.”

Spain will play their Davis Cup quarter-final tie against the Netherlands tomorrow, in what could be the final day of Nadal’s decorated career.

Inside the baseline…

It feels as though we have been building up to Rafael Nadal’s retirement for a while, but at the same time it does not feel like the tennis world is ready to say farewell to one of its greatest players. Nadal has put any ego aside in terms of the Davis Cup, and has been very vocal about the fact that if he does not feel ready he will step aside – particularly in regards to singles competition. Spain could definitely be a contender for the title in Malaga this week, especially with Carlos Alcaraz leading the team in-front of the home crowd, and what a way to go out that would be for Nadal.

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Matthew Johns, Tennishead Writer, is a professional tennis journalist with a specialist degree in Sports Journalism. He's a keen tennis player having represented his local club and University plus he's also a qualified tennis coach. Matthew has a deep knowledge of tennis especially the ATP Tour and thrives on breaking big tennis news stories for Tennishead.