Was Nadal's retirement this year always on the cards or did Nadal suffer another injury between the Olympics and the US Open?

Zardoz7/12

Hall of Fame
He insinuated at Madrid and at the French Open that this year "might not" be his last, in Bastad Nadal got to the final where despite losing the final showed glimpses of his former self. He lost at the Olympics then didn't play afterwards until the recent 6 kings slam in Saudi Arabia.

Was he always going to retire this year or did injuries come back or Nadal just isn't satisfied where he's at physically, mentally and the toll of tennis is too much at this point?

I really wanted him to stay on tour for next year, it wasn't beyond the realms of possibility for Nadal on Clay to do damage even nearing 39, GOATS slow down but the talent and skill never dies.
 

Purestriker

Legend
He insinuated at Madrid and at the French Open that this year "might not" be his last, in Bastad Nadal got to the final where despite losing the final showed glimpses of his former self. He lost at the Olympics then didn't play afterwards until the recent 6 kings slam in Saudi Arabia.

Was he always going to retire this year or did injuries come back or Nadal just isn't satisfied where he's at physically, mentally and the toll of tennis is too much at this point?

I really wanted him to stay on tour for next year, it wasn't beyond the realms of possibility for Nadal on Clay to do damage even nearing 39, GOATS slow down but the talent and skill never dies.
Injury or no injury, his movement was clearly lacking and that was the final card to his retirement.
 

ibbi

G.O.A.T.
He showed glimpses (emphasis on glimpses) of his former self against mediocre tennis players (on his best surface), and when he beat better ones (Norrie, ADM) it was on their worst surface, and his best. I think finding out how many million miles away from Djokovic at the Olympics he was probably made up his mind.

Guys like this don't generally have much interest in hanging around to just be middle-of-the-pack dudes. I don't think there is any reason to think he's gotten seriously hurt again.
 

zakopinjo

Professional
Given that Madrid prepared a farewell ceremony for him and Roland Garros was ready to do the same, it can be said that the decision to retire had already been made.
Although I think that Nadal may have felt that he was in some way competitive with Zverev in the first match of RG, he went for another check of his condition in Bastad, but I think that the knowledge that he could have lost the match against Novak with 6:0 6:0 on OI totally discouraged about some possible long slam runs.
 
Olympics match with novak clearly showed the gap between novak and rafa.if nadal cant win against novak then it is impossible to win against sinner and alcaraz. Six men saudi adventure totally made it clear that nadal is not good enough to be a contender even in FO. So wise decision on nadal part. Maybe his heart want one last RG fight but body mind are suggesting otherwise.
 

nolefam_2024

Bionic Poster
Olympics match with novak clearly showed the gap between novak and rafa.if nadal cant win against novak then it is impossible to win against sinner and alcaraz. Six men saudi adventure totally made it clear that nadal is not good enough to be a contender even in FO. So wise decision on nadal part. Maybe his heart want one last RG fight but body mind are suggesting otherwise.
Not just Novak, almost everyone kept showing Nadal he is not good anymore.

Not one single match apart from Thiem showed you old Nadal. Not one single match. His speed was so slow, he tried to counterbalance with enhanced aggression but his serve is now worse than it has ever been. So aggression also was faulty.
 
Not just Novak, almost everyone kept showing Nadal he is not good anymore.

Not one single match apart from Thiem showed you old Nadal. Not one single match. His speed was so slow, he tried to counterbalance with enhanced aggression but his serve is now worse than it has ever been. So aggression also was faulty.
Anyone in top 10 can beat nadal in present time . If he is not a contender for title than there is no way he will carry on.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
I think at the start of the year he hoped he might be able to make it into next season but his body soon told him otherwise. Eventually he had to face reality and call it quits just like Murray and Thiem had to do.
 

Nappa

Professional
Nadal was fresh as new in the first matches of the season. His body couldnt take more than a couple of professional level matches tho.

Nothing to regret.
 

DSH

Talk Tennis Guru
Nadal was fresh as new in the first matches of the season. His body couldnt take more than a couple of professional level matches tho.

Nothing to regret.
It was another bad decision, like in 2023, to go to oceanic lands to play tournaments on hard courts.
He was injured again and left the way open for Djokovic to overtake him at Roland Garros last year, a GS title that under normal physical conditions, should have been his.
Neither Djokovic in 2023 nor Alcaraz in 2024 were world beaters for a Nadal who, at 60% of his physical fitness, would have dispatched them in his favorite Major tournament.
(n)
 

FlatShot_V

New User
After the zverev match, declining to have a send off in RG and the bastad performance, I think it's fair to say playing in 2025 was on the cards but something must have happened between then and now.

At least that's how I see it.
 

Hitman

Bionic Poster
He always looked like he was retiring, but I think the real reality check came when he realized that he couldn't even vulture a 250, with literal qualifiers and first time finalists in his way....he didn't even need to play Ruud or Rublev there and he still barely made the final, only to lose. I think he knew then he was done, and that followed by the beating at the hands of Djokovic, where it looked like Djokovic took his foot off the gas on his very on court, PC and what more did he need to see to know he was done.

I do feel he originally intended to retire at LC, but then decided against it and felt it should be done in Spain in Davis Cup.
 

Musterrific

Hall of Fame
He always looked like he was retiring, but I think the real reality check came when he realized that he couldn't even vulture a 250, with literal qualifiers and first time finalists in his way....he didn't even need to play Ruud or Rublev there and he still barely made the final, only to lose. I think he knew then he was done, and that followed by the beating at the hands of Djokovic, where it looked like Djokovic took his foot off the gas on his very on court, PC and what more did he need to see to know he was done.

I do feel he originally intended to retire at LC, but then decided against it and felt it should be done in Spain in Davis Cup.
His comments right after the Olympic loss were very telling - he was totally discouraged and unusually negative about his abilities. I think that humiliating drubbing by Djokovic made up Nadal's mind.
 

Rafa24

Hall of Fame
Shockingly enough his best match he's played was against chainz in round 1 at FO who was the eventual finalist. I think he should try and gear up for one more run at FO but is at peace with where he is. whats 1 more FO when he already has 14 and it would leave him one behind djoker anyways.

I think he left the door open for 25 as he told FO not to do a ceremony as he might play 1 more but what transpired after Bastad and Olympics lead him to quit.
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
I think he had hope till the FO that he could maybe compete on clay against the Top players. But the easy losses to Zverev at the FO and Djokovic at the Olympics along with likely the inability to even win a clay 250 tournament before the Olympics probably sealed the deal in making him realize that he has no chance to win any tournaments anymore. For a guy like Nadal who has a long history of skipping indoor tournaments, he is not going to play if he can’t have a high chance of winning.
 

nolefam_2024

Bionic Poster
I think he had hope till the FO that he could maybe compete on clay against the Top players. But the easy losses to Zverev at the FO and Djokovic at the Olympics along with likely the inability to even win a clay 250 tournament before the Olympics probably sealed the deal in making him realize that he has no chance to win any tournaments anymore. For a guy like Nadal who has a long history of skipping indoor tournaments, he is not going to play if he can’t have a high chance of winning.
Not just Zverev and Djokovic. These are big names so you are actually being far more gracious here.

He is 6-6 on clay vs top 100 players. So 4 other losses were to guys not named Djokovic/Zverev, on clay.
 

Purestriker

Legend
He was lazy and let his body fall apart during his year off, this is the price
Uh, no. There comes a point where the mind is willing and the body is no longer capable. If you don't think you lose foot speed after 35, I got news for you. It is a miracle he was able to compete at that level at 37. You can work as hard as you want, you simply won't be able to keep up with 20 year olds.
 

nolefam_2024

Bionic Poster
I would agree, but answer this then; During his year off what was he doing to prepare his body to attempt another run at the slam race?
Only his team know. Not @Hitman and you.

What players normally do is experiment with new rackets , as per latest Gill Gross interview and for someone like Nadal, also rest up and let the knees relax.
 
Nadal was fresh as new in the first matches of the season. His body couldnt take more than a couple of professional level matches tho.

Nothing to regret.
Nadal was not intending on retiring this year if his body held up. So talk of him definitively deciding he was retiring this year is just guesswork. That said Rafa and his team were pretty sure it would be his last season as the abdominal injury he suffered at W2022 was very significant as it took away his serve which we all saw for ourselves on the rare occasions he played the last 2 years. The reality was that injury was not likely to get better, but Rafa being Rafa didnt want doctors to decide for him what to do, he wanted to make sure for absolute definite that he was done. He and his team did know he was retiring when the decision to skip Wimbledon was announced as he definitely wanted one last appearance on Centre Court. Since then he has just been focussed on Team Spain as for those that have followed his career will know, he absolutely loves team events.
Rafa squared any remaining circles he had left in 2022. At AO and FO he put right a couple of things for ever.
 

SonnyT

Legend
Of whom do Nadal's myriad injuries remind you? Murray, Nadal pushed his body beyond its breaking point in '22, like Murray in '16! But we did see Nadal win another 8 slams beyond '16!
 

Rosstour

G.O.A.T.
Not retiring? What makes you think so? A tremor in the force?

Well, he said he would love to play in RG25, and he said going into DC that "my focus is not on retirement, but on Davis Cup"

I think he will train next year for RG and maybe a few CC warmup events, not absolutely sure he will play but I think he will try
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
His movement this year had been poor. And it looked even worse today, there were a couple slow balls he tried to run around to hit a forehand and he almost didn’t make it in time.

Reminded me of a point in Federer’s last match when stretching for a ball out wide from Jack sock. it was a decent ball, but nothing Roger should’ve been struggling to get to. you could clearly see Fed hobbling to move laterally in a way I’d never seen before. That was when I it really became clear how much agility he’d lost.
 

mahatma

Hall of Fame
A player like Nadal who has been a champion all his life wont atat and keep losing. Decision to retire happened by seeing no more chances to win slams/ other smaller tournaments too
 
A player like Nadal who has been a champion all his life wont atat and keep losing. Decision to retire happened by seeing no more chances to win slams/ other smaller tournaments too
There is no joy in playing and losing . If there is hope that he can win something than only it is justified to play . Losing to unknown players is no good sign and better to say good bye.
 

nolefam_2024

Bionic Poster
There is no joy in playing and losing . If there is hope that he can win something than only it is justified to play . Losing to unknown players is no good sign and better to say good bye.
Yes in 2015 I didn't understand but he knew there were a lot of big matches he could play still. But now it's impossible to imagine. With that he has had almost 4/5 different send offs. We don't want another Rick Flair situation. He will retire in peace.
 

ballamaz

Rookie
If Nadal was truly injured then he would not be playing.

He can play just fine but only as a top 200 player.

That is his true level.
 

Fabresque

Legend
He tried to keep going but the RG and Olympic loss finally made him see that it’s over.

He could’ve still been top 100 probably but why would Nadal stick around for that nonsense? He still wanted to be in contention.

When he got ROFL-stomped on his best surface and best court twice by Zverev and Djokovic that’s when he probably called it. The gap between him and the top 5 was massive.
 

weakera

Talk Tennis Guru
Some of us recognized many months ago that Rafa was planning to retire at the Davis Cup:

Watching Rafa against Lehecka, I began to delude myself into thinking that Rafa looks fit and solid enough to carry on with his career next season. It's sad to remember in the moments when Rafa looks normal that the next injury always seems to be just around the corner. I am hoping he is fit to compete for titles at Roland Garros and the Olympics.

After his Davis Cup comment yesterday he clearly has it in mind that the Finals this year are in Malaga and I am certain he would find that to be a very fitting end.
 

nolefam_2024

Bionic Poster
If anything, Nadal showing the ambiguity in his retirement actually soured good moment to discuss his retirement. He always kept it up in the air till the very end. And even yesterday, he was not comfortable having grand celebration. It's his choice and his personality. Let's not discuss this, now is not the time to discuss this etc.

But that did ruin great opportunity to celebrate him. Celebrate the way Pete Sampras was celebrated in 2003 and Federer was celebrated in 2022.

Who said there is no great farewell. It's possible and both Sampras and Fed has shown how. It's not that difficult. Get 5 to 20 legends of the game to talk you up.

 
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MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
If anything, Nadal showing the ambiguity in his retirement actually soured good moment to discuss his retirement. He always kept it up in the air till the very end. And even yesterday, he was not comfortable having grand celebration. It's his choice and his personality. Let's not discuss this, now is not the time to discuss this etc.

But that did ruin great opportunity to celebrate him. Celebrate the way Pete Sampras was celebrated in 2003 and Federer was celebrated in 2022.

Who said there is no great farewell. It's possible and both Sampras and Fed has shown how. It's not that difficult. Get 5 to 20 legends of the game to talk you up.

Nadal is gonna get his grand celebration at RG 2025, and that's exactly where it should happen, 20yo anniversary of his first slam. They better go all out lol, I want drones :alien:
 
Well, he said he would love to play in RG25, and he said going into DC that "my focus is not on retirement, but on Davis Cup"

I think he will train next year for RG and maybe a few CC warmup events, not absolutely sure he will play but I think he will try

@vive le beau jeu ! Your thoughts? Is this indeed the tour's final deNadalization, or should we be all Nadal will play again doom and gloom like @Rosstour?
 
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