Rafael Nadal of Spain speaks to his coach Carlos Moya, right, during a training session ahead of the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
Rafael Nadal still has the desire to compete at the top and his fighting spirit remains as strong as ever with his coach Carlos Moya not ruling out a U-turn on retirement.
After the 22-time Grand Slam winner was forced to skip the 2023 French Open due to a hip injury that required surgery, he admitted in May last year that the 2024 tennis season was likely to be his last as a professional.
“You never know how things will turn out, but my intention is that next year will be my last year,” the tennis great said during a press conference.
But the former world No 1 could opt to continue his playing career after the 2024 season with Moya stating that Nadal has earned the right to decide when he wants to hang up his racket.
In an interview with Punto de Break, the Spaniard was asked “options that 2024 will not be his last year?”, he replied: “Yes, why not? He has also said it himself in other interviews.
“He has earned the right to decide how, where and when he wants to retire. Despite his situation, which has changed by having a child, he wants to continue competing in this way.”
Following his injury-ravaged campaign in 2023, Nadal finally made his long-awaited comeback at the beginning of this year as he played in the Brisbane International. But said comeback lasted only two matches as a fresh injury forced him to skip the Australian Open.
The latest injury is not as serious as the hip flexor setback as Moya admitted his desire to compete at the top is still intact.
“I’m surprised by the desire he has, his behaviour on the court, always wanting more, his ambition to improve. It’s incredible. That’s what has made him who he is,” he said.
“To maintain that motivation for so many years, when the easiest thing to do would be to say ‘I quit’. You see how professional he is and how bad he has had it this past year, seeing how he came back after the operation and the day-to-day and you think what a credit he has to come back at a good level.”
Nadal defeated Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler in straight sets in Brisbane before going down in three sets to Jordan Thompson in the quarter-final.
Moya is convinced he will still be able to compete with the top players although there are still concerns about whether or not he can play back-to-back matches at a high level.
“Yes, why not? He won the first two games well and almost beat a player who almost beat [Stefanos] Tsitsipas in Australia the following week,” the former world No 1 said.
“That is, of a high level. I think that, after one game, I have no doubts about the level that Rafa can offer.
“What is missing is knowing what would happen if one day he plays with a top, wins and plays with another tomorrow. He has not yet experienced that rhythm of competition and we are missing that. I said he would need about 10 games to get to that 100% level.”
