Roland Garros tournament director Amélie Mauresmo provided an encouraging update regarding Rafael Nadal’s fitness.
The 37-year-old entered Roland Garros for what could possibly be the final time on Monday as he suffered defeat at the hands of Alexander Zverev in the first round.
He delivered a speech on court thanking fans for their support and he did not definitively close the door on a return to the clay court major in the future.
This has been reinforced by Mauresmo who shared some details on why there was no farewell ceremony for Nadal after his exit.
What did Rafael Nadal do before competing at the 2024 French Open?
As he plotted a comeback after a year on the sidelines due to injury, Nadal targeted an appearance at the French Open and suggested it may be his last.
But after some encouraging practice sessions before Roland Garros and showing a high level of play against Zverev, the 22-time Grand Slam champion is feeling more optimistic about his chances of continuing his career.
That is why Mauresmo said Nadal cancelled a tribute ceremony that had been planned weeks in advance, on the eve of his meeting with Zverev.
“As you can imagine, we had something planned for him, but he said [on Saturday] – that he doesn’t know if it’s gonna be his last Roland Garros or not,” she said.
“He wants to leave the door open for him, maybe to come back next year as a player. So we’re not going to push him to do anything. It’s his decision when he wants to have a proper ceremony or proper goodbye and proper farewell. So we didn’t do it this year.”
What did Rafael Nadal say about his tennis future?
After a slow start to his first Grand Slam match since January 2023, Nadal lost the opening set but raised his game in the second to break Zverev and go on to serve for the second set.
But the German stormed back and claimed the second set on a tiebreak, before coming back from 0-2 down in the third to claim a 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 win.
Though Nadal did not want to look too far into the future, he wants to continue playing for as long as possible and targeted playing at the Paris Olympics Games.
“If I keep enjoying doing what I am doing and I feel myself competitive and healthy enough to enjoy, I want to keep going for a while,” he said. “I don’t know for how long, but I am having fun.
“For me now [it] looks difficult to make a transition to grass, then having the Olympics again on clay. I cannot confirm anything. I need to talk with the team and analyse facts.”
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