Reports state that Rafael Nadal has chosen to compete in the US Open in 2024 instead of retiring from professional men’s tennis.
The 38-year-old, who won his first singles match in almost seven weeks on Tuesday in Bastad, defeated Bjorn Borg’s son 6-3 6-4. His career is coming to a close, and many had anticipated that he would hang up his racket after the Olympic Games in Paris.
Nadal has publicly discussed ending his career on multiple occasions, and it was widely believed that this was his final year of competing in the French Open. Nadal missed Wimbledon in 2024.
But after falling in the opening round, the 22-time Grand Slam champion reversed course, causing Roland-Garros organizers to postpone their intended farewell ceremony.
Nadal has been battling injuries for a long time, but it appears Novak Djokovic may have been correct when he said that the Spaniard might be persuaded to compete in the 2025 French Open. Nadal will likely continue to participate on the ATP Tour.
That comes after Rafael Nadal unexpectedly made an appearance on the US Open entrance list for this year, startling supporters who thought he would play his final match at the Olympics in doubles with fellow countryman Carlos Alcaraz.
Although ESPN has stated that Rafael Nadal’s inclusion on the Grand Slam entry list in New York does not guarantee that he will participate at Flushing Meadows, Forbes asserts that the seasoned player is almost certain to compete at the US Open.
Nadal made his decision after defeating Leo Borg in straight sets on Swedish clay, his first victory since an agonizing early loss to Alexander Zverev at the French Open.
Paying homage to Borg’s father, a true tennis giant who won 11 major titles between 1974 and 1980, Rafael Nadal remarked after the match, “It’s a huge honor to play against the son of one of the biggest legends in the history of our sport.”
It was Nadal’s first victory in Bastad since 2005, defeating Borg. When he was nineteen, he had won the championship the last time he played there.
Alcaraz, a young Spanish tennis sensation, just won an amazing Channel Slam after upsetting Djokovic in the Wimbledon final for the second consecutive year.
“My impression is that we are talking about a player who is going to be one of the best in history,” Nadal remarked, praising Alcaraz. That’s how I feel.
He has a lot of potential as a player. The fact is, things in life can change very quickly. One can never predict what may occur in the future. However, if we had to forecast his career today, we make amazing predictions.
He plays tennis at an extremely high level. Of course Jannik Sinner is there, provided he can avoid injury. But now, without a doubt, I picture him with Sinner ahead of the others.
🙌🏻💪🏻🇪🇸 https://t.co/gKyzq6uQho
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 13, 2024
The best thing he has right now, in my opinion, is that he will always be the favorite in any tournament he participates in, regardless of the surface. I don’t see many players on the Tour who can stop him.
Even at the young age of 21, Rafael Nadal is certain that Alcaraz is not like the Big Three and has a “aura” of being a favorite for every tournament he now joins.
He believes that this is not the Big Three era because, although he was a dominant force on clay, Djokovic and the Swiss legend shared the hard courts, and Roger Federer was the king on grass.
“I feel that he has that air, that sense,” Nadal continued. “No [one] player was the favorite before each tournament [in my era]. That’s a significant advantage because, in my opinion, he believes that nobody can really beat him if he is performing at his peak.
Alcaraz has surprisingly already had great success on all three surfaces, having won back-to-back Wimbledon titles in the last two years, the 2022 US Open, and the 2024 French Open.