Two years ago, Rafael Nadal won his 14th French Open and was on top of the world. Now, his dominant career at the clay Slam might be over.
In 2022, Nadal begin the year with titles at the Australian Open and French Open. He was looking strong in Wimbledon, too, possibly ready to supplant Novak Djokovic as the top player in the world. Then, disaster struck. In the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, Nadal suffered an abdominal tear that kept him out of action for six weeks. He was not quite the same early in the year, but still played somewhat well.
Early 2023 was when things took a turn for the worse. He suffered a hip injury in the Australian Open second round, which kept him out of the sport for nearly a year. During his recovery, he announced that 2024 would “likely” be his final year on Tour. He returned this year, in fits and starts, and clearly has not physically been the same as before the injury.
Which brings us to this year’s French Open, on the courts that Nadal has owned for almost two full decades now. What could the Spaniard do in possibly his final stint at the event?
Rafael Nadal at the 2024 French Open
To start, Nadal was given a brutal draw. Unseeded due to his absence from basically all of 2023, Nadal could have been drawn to face anyone in the tournament. He was slated to face Alexander Zverev, one of the pre-tournament favorites. Zverev is coming off an impressive title in the Rome Masters, and has looked very strong on clay this year. Nadal, meanwhile, had basically no match practice coming into the event.
For facing the #4 seed and a pre-tournament favorite, Nadal acquitted himself very well. After a slow start, the Spaniard earned early breaks in both the second and third sets. He made Zverev work, hard, for well over three hours, but in the end Nadal just did not have the consistency every single point to take out one of the top players in the world. The match ended with a very respectable 36 67(5) 36 scoreline in favor of the German, but it was far closer than that implies.
What’s Next for Nadal
Was this Nadal’s final match in Paris? Almost certainly not. The Olympic Games will be held on the French Open courts this summer, and Nadal plans to compete. If he can’t earn a spot in the singles draw, he will likely be able to compete in doubles, together with World #2 Carlos Alcaraz.
But is Rafael Nadal done at the French Open? Quite possibly. Nadal hasn’t said anything official, and given his level in this match, he’s certainly not done being a contender yet. But the next French Open is another year away, and Nadal would have to stay healthy and fight off aging for another 12 months.
The entire tennis world knew the potential for this to be Nadal’s final match. Players up and down the rankings, including some of Nadal’s old rivals, came out to watch him. They knew it was perhaps his final opportunity. And Nadal summed it up after the match. When asked if he had something to say to the fans about the match, he said he doesn’t know himself whether he’s done at the event. But in case it was, he said, “Bonjour, adios.”
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
