“Without a doubt,” Coach Carlos Moya confirms 2024 is Rafael Nadal’s final year on tour

Carlos Moya has bad news for Rafa fans.

“Without a doubt,” Coach Carlos Moya confirms 2024 is Rafael Nadal’s final year on tour

May 23, 2024, Paris, Paris, France: Rafael Nadal and Carlos Moya (coach) at practice on Philippe Chatrier central court of Roland Garros 2024 (Via Imago)

Rafael Nadal’s coach and former World No. 1 Carlos Moya has claimed that 2024 is going to be the last season for Nadal as a professional tennis player. The ‘King of Clay’ lost in the first round of Roland Garros against Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 this Monday.

Moya was speaking to the media regarding Nadal’s potential retirement. After the match, Nadal didn’t confirm that it would be his final match at Roland Garros. However, he said that it was likely.

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Yes, without a doubt [when asked about this being Nadal's final year]. We didn’t know what would happen in Barcelona. He had self-control I’d never seen in him until then. Above all, I’m talking about the match against de Minaur. Rafa wasn’t able to compete, to go for more than two hours without relapsing. We knew that if he wanted to play at Roland Garros, he would have to go through situations like that, checking the load and the work. All he could do was take his foot off the gas. And he did. It wasn’t easy in that situation, in front of a packed court. It hurt us all.
Carlos Moya said

Nadal has not provided any update so far about his availability for Wimbledon. He has won the grass-court Grand Slam twice in his career, in 2008 and 2010. However, he has confirmed his availability for the Paris Olympics. He has hinted at playing doubles with World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz at the Games.

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That was part of the process for arriving in Paris fit. Little by little, he built up time on court. Athough he’s had ups and downs, he’s always been progressing. We’d like him to have more matches in his legs. We thought he’d be more competitive in Rome, but we left there with the confidence, more or less, that nothing would happen injury-wise. At that point, you’re no longer thinking it might be the last match of his career. But in Barcelona and, at times, in Madrid, you were thinking it could be the last match he ever played.
Carlos Moya added

Nadal has also confirmed his participation in the Laver Cup. He was present at the 2022 edition when his long-term rival, Roger Federer, retired. There are rumors that the Spaniard could be doing the same in the 2024 edition.

Rafael Nadal loses most likely to be his last Roland Garros match against Alexander Zverev

The 14-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal played potentially his final match in the clay slam on Monday, losing to fourth seed Alexander Zverev. This marks only the fourth defeat for the Spaniard on his favorite court.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal waving to the Roland Garros crowd (via Imago)

Zverev started on the front foot, breaking Nadal’s serve in the opening game. From there on, the Italian Open winner served well and took the first set 6-3.

The second set could have gone either way. Nadal served for it at 5-4, but Zverev broke back to love. There were some questionable shot selections from the Spaniard in the tiebreaker. However, Zverev stayed calm and won the second set.

Nadal was also ahead in the third set by breaking early on. However, Zverev won six of the last seven games to secure victory. A special on-court interview was organized for the Spaniard. Nadal confirmed that he will be back for the Paris Olympics, which starts in late July.

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