“Beyond tough and beyond competitive,” Tiger Woods tells fans to savor Rafael Nadal as much possible as retirement looms for the Spaniard

Rafael Nadal's comeback at the 2024 Australian Open has taken the internet by storm, and his competitive spirit is highly praised by the legendary golfer Tiger Woods.

“Beyond tough and beyond competitive,” Tiger Woods tells fans to savor Rafael Nadal as much possible as retirement looms for the Spaniard

Rafael Nadal and Tiger Woods (image via: Britannica and Golf Magazine)

Rafael Nadal has not played a match since January 2023 due to his injury and the surgery he went through. However, the Spaniard is set to make a comeback at the Australian Open 2024, which kicks off on January 14, 2024. For context, the 22-time Grand Slam title winner had to stay away from the court for such a long time due to his injury in his left psoas at the Australian Open. 

Amid the news of his return, another sporting icon, Tiger Woods, has lauded praises on him heavily. The American has admired the competitive spirit of Rafa. In a conversation with Eurosport, Woods said:

Well, I think what Rafa, what he's done is extraordinary. I mean, he won the Australian Open on a broken foot. The guy is beyond tough and beyond competitive.
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The American has also requested that the fans enjoy his presence and watch him play because the time is almost there for the Spaniard to say goodbye. Speaking about the same, Woods further added:

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I don't want to see him go. I never wanted to see Fed [Roger Federer] go, but that's what happened.

Continuing his train of thought, he concluded: 

We should all enjoy watching him compete and watching him play and what he's meant to the game, what he's meant to all of us, just to see the passion of how he plays and why he plays.

Rafa has been nursing injuries throughout his career. However, none of them could stop him from performing at the highest level. That’s the sheer will and strong mindset of the Spaniard. That’s what makes him different from others, making him one of the best in the history of the sport. 

What’s next for Rafael Nadal?

With this news of Rafa’s comeback, various questions arise in the minds of the pundits. The most genuine question is: What will be the plans for the Spaniard at this stage of his career?

Many questions were asked by the media to the Spaniard regarding this. Rafa had humbly answered that he just wanted to enjoy his tennis and bring out his competitive nature again. Rafa also sarcastically stated that he won’t be able to break the records of Novak Djokovic anymore.

Rafael Nadal (image via: NBC News)

Among the ‘Big Three‘ Rafa had the greatest number of Grand Slam title. However, after his injury and numerous marquee events, Djokovic took the lead owing to his successful season. Rafa’s career golden slam is still to be altered. Moreover, an Olympic gold that was won by Rafa in 2008 is not in the armory of Nole. 

However, after coming back from such a surgery, Rafa will not seek to pay any attention to these comparisons. The Spaniard will only be looking to make a swashbuckling comeback to Melbourne Park. 

Rafa will be traveling to Australia after Christmas to get some warm-up games to gain some momentum under his belt. His fans and the entire world of tennis would hope that they could see the Spaniard dancing to the beats on the courts.