Rafael Nadal made a surprising announcement after his defeat to Alex de Minaur in Barcelona. Here, he hinted once again that he is in the midst of playing his final season as a professional tennis player.
While he maintains a kind of false suspense about the end of his career, Rafael Nadal’s statements after his second-round defeat at the ATP 500 in Barcelona against Alex De Minaur this Tuesday leave no doubt: 2024 will indeed be the final season of his career.
After stating in the post-match press conference that he was ready to “die” to play at Roland-Garros one last time, the Spanish champion made it clear that the 2024 edition of the Catalan tournament would be his last.
“In the end, as you know, I am quite emotionally stable, I always try to analyze things correctly. You all know how important it was for me to play here, where the best players compete,” he said, according to We Love Tennis.
“This is one of the tournaments with the most history and one of the few played in a club. A place that lives on even when the tournament is over. I have had some great moments, I have always loved playing here, winning 12 times was unimaginable for me. I thank the club, all the people who welcomed me here and made me feel what I felt.”
“In the end, it’s sports, I’m passing the baton to the new generation, there are no actors more important than the sport and the tournaments. I think I was lucky to write beautiful pages in the history of the tournament with the awareness of always giving my best. Now a chapter is closing, that’s life. It hurts, but that’s normal. However, for me, it’s already beautiful to have played.”
