It is widely accepted that this will likely be Rafael Nadal’s final year on the tennis tour.
The 37-year-old, who has won it all and broken countless records, will forever remain one of the sport’s greatest-ever players.
But having suffered a 2024 laden with injuries thus far, there is a worry that he might not make it to enjoy what might be his last-ever coveted Roland-Garros tournament.
Andy Roddick has now made his grim prediction for the rest of Nadal’s year…
What Andy Roddick said about Rafa Nadal
Speaking on his Served with Andy Roddick podcast, the former world number one was effusive in his praise for the legendary Spaniard, but admitted that his absence from a few tournaments recently was no surprise.
After all, having watched him up close during the ‘Netflix Slam’ a few weeks ago, the 41-year-old was left stunned by one thing he kept seeing.
Roddick noted: ‘Rafa pulling out of Palm Springs, after having pulled out of Australia, after having pulled out of Doha… I was in Vegas, was able to see him play the exhibition Netflix Slam with Carlos Alcaraz.
‘It just felt, and I said to Prakash Amritaj and we were sitting next to each other, it just felt like he was having a hard time getting out of that backhand corner consistently, and once Alcaraz found that he started pounding that side.
‘Where Rafa normally runs through the ball, he has such a strong right hand on that backhand because he naturally does everything else in his life right-handed, he was just having a hard time digging out of that corner when someone bullied him there.
‘He didn’t look committed on that side, so I said to Prakash I think it’s 40% that he pulls out of Indian Wells so I wasn’t shocked. But there is this gravity of, I think it’s probably the last time we see him play in the states in a sanctioned match, I think it’s probably the last time we see him play on a hard court, and the gravity of tennis without him feels more real by the day.’
Nadal’s retirement will be a dark day for tennis
As a Great British tennis fan, what’s most sad about this situation is how Andy Murray’s retirement could be overshadowed should Nadal do the same this year!
But, in all seriousness, it will be a dark day when the 22-time Grand Slam champion calls time on his playing career.
A supreme athlete who revolutionised the sport, he has set a record at the French Open that likely nobody will ever beat.
So how he chooses to see out the final months of his career is up to him, and he will be celebrated appropriately at whichever tournament he chooses to be his last.
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