Rafael Nadal keeps his cards close to his chest as he lets others retire him every day

Rafael Nadal has refused to discuss his retirement, though he understand how his age plays a role in everyone speculating about it.

Rafael Nadal keeps his cards close to his chest as he lets others retire him every day

Rafael Nadal (Via Imago)

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal is not revealing his retirement plans anytime soon. While there were talks about the 22-time Grand Slam champion hanging his racket at the end of the 2024 season, Nadal has given no such indication. The 38-year-old is still picking and choosing tournaments to compete in.

Nadal played in almost all clay court tournaments including the Barcelona Open, Rome, and Madrid Masters. The King of Clay then competed at the French Open with the hope of finishing on a high but was knocked out in the opening round following a defeat to Alexander Zverev.

Rafael Nadal then competed at the Paris Olympics and tried to maximize his chances of a medal by partnering with Carlos Alcaraz in the doubles. The pair reached the quarterfinals before bowing out.

With Nadal bowing out of the Summer Games, many speculated that he might call time on his career. However, the Spaniard announced that while he will not play at the 2024 US Open, he will compete at the Laver Cup in Berlin.

This led to rumors that the Spaniard might follow Roger Federer in announcing his retirement at the tournament. However, Nadal seems to have no such plans, though he is aware that others have been speculating the end of his career regularly. 

People are retiring me every day for some time now. It's normal as I'm getting older.
Rafael Nadal said (via El Hormiguero)

With this statement, the Spaniard has kept the speculations about his retirement at the Laver Cup alive.

John McEnroe speculates the timeline of Rafael Nadal’s retirement

While Rafael Nadal continues to brush aside the retirement talks, American tennis legend John McEnroe feels the Spaniard might follow in Roger Federer’s footsteps when it comes to bringing the curtains on his career.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Via Imago)
It feels like he is going to stop, maybe, at Laver Cup. Then again, Roger did it at Laver Cup a couple of years ago, so maybe he wants to do it in his own time.
John McEnroe said (via Eurosport)

Nadal is currently out of action as he is on a break and will be back in action in Berlin. The 38-year-old might possibly give fans some clues about his future there.