Rafael Nadal announced on social media that he will not compete at this year’s US Open. The Spaniard said he won’t be able to give his 100% this time and his next event will be the Laver Cup in Berlin in September. This withdrawal means Nadal does not win a match at Slams for the first time in 22 years. Nadal’s last match at the US Open came in 2022 where he lost to Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round.
Very sad but not surprising. Nadal is probably bowing out of the competitive part of the tour. The only thing left is tournaments like the Laver Cup, where he doesn’t have to be extremely competitive. Nadal must have evaluated his level in the last few tournaments and realised he can no longer go deep in Slams. The way he lost to Novak Djokovic at the Olympics may have changed his mind. Only Nadal will know for sure, but it appears that retirement is on the horizon.
Retirement at The Laver Cup?
Nadal made numerous attempts to return this season, but while the shotmaking quality was still there, the movement is just too diminished now to fight against quality players. He’s not suddenly going to be as fast as 2022 levels again and his game style revolves around his physicality. The multiple injuries on the foot and hip seem to have taken a lot out of him. Doesn’t help that his thigh area is injured again during the Olympics.
He looked like he was improving leading up to the French Open, he even beat Alex de Minaur and then played well against Alexander Zverev and then all of a sudden there was this decline in level at Bastad and then the Olympics. The way Nadal spoke after losing to Zverev at the French Open, it felt like he’d like to return in 2025. He was probably more optimistic about his level then, than he is now. He played much better against Zverev than in Bastad or at the Paris Olympics.
Nadal has managed to play on some of his favourite courts and places this year. Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, French Open and Olympics on Philippe-Chatrier against his great rival. Only Rafael Nadal knows what’s in store for him but if the Laver Cup is his final tennis event ever, fans will hope for Nadal to bring Roger Federer out of retirement and play doubles with him for the final time to sign off into the distance.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
