“Roland Garros will be held without Nadal for the first time in 18 years! Does he plan to retire from tennis after 2024?

This year’s French Open (“Roland Garros”) will be without Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2005. On Thursday, the Spaniard announced that he had to withdraw from the tournament due to an injury. He also stated that he plans to end his tennis career after the 2024 season. I didn’t make the decision, my body did,” Nadal said. – Next year will probably be my last year, that’s my idea. If I continue to play now, I won’t be able to do it.

“Roland Garros is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments and Rafael Nadal is its absolute king. He has won the tournament 14 times, including last year. The Spaniard has a total of 22 Grand Slam titles: he has won the Australian Open and Wimbledon twice each and the US Open four times. “The situation with the injury I got in Australia didn’t develop the way I would have liked. Since then I have had to give up a lot of things and now Roland Garros is impossible. You can imagine how difficult it is for me, considering what this tournament means to me,” Nadal told journalists.

According to his words, he does not intend to return to the court in the next few months. With a high probability, the 2023 season can be considered an early end for Nadal. “Roland Garros will be held in Paris from May 28 to June 11. There are two more Grand Slam tournaments on the calendar this year – Wimbledon in July and the US Open in September.

Nadal injured his thigh during a match against American Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the Australian Open in January. We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what happens next. эпизоды means “episodes” in English. End of podcast advertising story. His debut on the clay courts of Paris, where he went on to win 14 titles, came in 2005, but it took him three tries. In 2003 and 2004, he was forced to withdraw from the French Open due to elbow and ankle injuries. After that, Rafael Nadal has only missed three Grand Slam tournaments due to injury in his 21-year career, including this year’s Roland Garros. Despite the fact that injuries constantly haunt him.

The injury that currently prevents Nadal from continuing the season was sustained in January during the second round match of the Australian Open against the American McKenzie McDonald. Doctors diagnosed a strained left hamstring muscle and the Spaniard has not played a single match since. Nadal will be 37 this summer. In 2021, he made the decision with his team and doctors to skip the Tokyo Olympics and the rest of the season – Wimbledon and the US Open. According to him, this was done to prolong his career as long as possible. But experts say it gets harder to recover from injuries as you age. Tennis fans will be lucky to see Rafael Nadal on the clay of Roland Garros next year.