“It’s not me, it’s my body’s decision.”
‘King of the clay court’ Rafael Nadal (37, Spain, world ranking 14th, photo) will not participate in this year’s French Open, which opens on the 28th. Nadal won the French Open on clay courts for the first time in 2005 and immediately became the champion. No player in men’s and women’s tennis has won more titles in a particular major.
Nadal held a press conference at his tennis academy in Mallorca, Spain on the 18th (local time) and said, “I tried many ways to solve the problem I had at the Australian Open, but I couldn’t find a solution.” I am not a person who goes to a competition to say ‘I came out’. I’m not in a good condition right now,” he said.카지노사이트
Nadal missed the tournament for four months after dropping out of the second round of the Australian Open in January this year, complaining of muscle pain in his hip. At the same time, the world ranking also fell outside the top 10 in 18 years since 2005. If this year’s French Open ends and last year’s winning points (2,000 points) are lost, Nadal will fall outside the top 100 in the rankings for the first time in 20 years.
Nadal also set a new record for the most men’s singles wins (22) at the French Open last year. Since then, Novak Djokovic (36, Serbia, 1st place) has also set a tie record at the Australian Open this year.
“I think the end of my career should be better than this,” Nadal said. I did not overcome the hard training to announce my retirement at the press conference. I really want to face the end on the court,” he said. “I want to give myself another year. Perhaps 2024 will be my last season as a professional player.”
“I thought it was time to stop to get the next opportunity,” Nadal said. I don’t know how long it will stop. Maybe two months, maybe a month and a half or three or four months,” he said, not specifying the exact time of return.