Rafael Nadal will end his 19-year French Open career with little chance of adding to his 14 titles before leaving behind a record and reputation that will probably never be matched.
The legendary Spaniard, a 22-time Grand Slam winner, won his first title at Roland Garros as a youngster in 2005. He will turn 38 a week from Monday.
Nadal, a former world number one who is now ranked 276 in the world, has only played 15 matches since January of last year due to a hip injury and subsequently a muscle rupture, adding to a gloomy history of medical ailments that have forced him to miss 12 Grand Slam tournaments over his career.
The draw for the 2024 French Open, which takes place on Thursday afternoon, will reveal whether or not the event moves up to number 13.
Welcome back, @RafaelNadal 👍🇪🇸#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/5FQMzRFy1F
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 20, 2024
Giving his all
“I’m going to play the tournament thinking that I can give it my all, 100 percent,” Nadal said after losing in the second round in Rome last week.
“And if 100% isn’t enough to win a match, I’ll accept it. But I don’t want to walk onto the court knowing I have no chance. If there’s a 0.01% chance, I want to investigate it and give it a shot.”
In addition to 14 titles in Paris, Nadal has 112 wins and only three losses, two of which were against his longtime nemesis Novak Djokovic.
He is also held in extremely high regard.
On Monday, over 6,000 fans gathered to watch his first training session on Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros, with many singing his name.
“We have to enjoy the time he has left on the court, evaluate it, and be aware that something like that is unlikely to happen again,” remarked coach Carlos Moya at the recent Madrid Open.
“I’m seldom on court when he enters or leaves, but I am this year because I enjoy watching the love he receives from the crowd when he comes on the floor.
“He’s one of the great stars of this sport, he’s about to retire, and it’s really amazing to see that.”
Djokovic under a cloud.
Nadal isn’t the only top-tier player under a shadow in Paris ahead of the tournament’s start on Sunday.
Defending champion and record 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, who won three titles in Paris alongside Gustavo Kuerten, Mats Wilander, and Ivan Lendl, is experiencing a title drought not seen since 2018.
Back then, he reached May without a trophy before losing in the last 16 of the French Open to unheralded Italian Marco Cecchinato.
This season, Djokovic lost the Australian Open and has yet to reach a tour final.
To make matters worse, he was hit on the head by a falling water bottle in Rome, a bizarre accident that he claimed produced nausea and dizziness.
In an attempt to gain clay-court confidence ahead of the French Open, Djokovic, who turns 37 on Wednesday, received a late wild card into the ongoing Geneva tournament.
Nadal and Djokovic have won the last eight French Open titles between them, and a Roland Garros final without at least one of them has not occurred since 2009.
World number two Jannik Sinner, who followed Djokovic as Australian Open champion, has been sidelined by a hip issue, forcing him to miss the Rome Open.
On his debut at the French Open in 2020, the 22-year-old Italian advanced to the quarterfinals before being ousted in straight sets by Rafael Nadal.
Sinner has a further motive to advance deep in Paris since he may dethrone Djokovic as world number one.
Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning Wimbledon champion, also skipped Rome to recover from an arm ailment.
Last year, the world number three won the opening set against Djokovic in their semi-final before succumbing to abdominal cramps.
The Spanish crowd-pleaser revealed that his rapid and drastic physical deterioration was caused by his fear of playing Djokovic.