Nadal casts doubt on Roland-Garros participation: “I will not play in Paris if I am like today”

The Spaniard says he still has hope of being competitive but admits he is playing with limitations due to injury

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April 24, 2024

Rafael Nadal has cast further doubt on whether he will be able to compete at next month’s French Open after he said on Wednesday that he would not play there if he was feeling the way he does today.

The 37-year-old Spaniard, 14 times the champion in Paris, returned to action in Barcelona last week after three months away with abdominal issues, having missed almost the entire previous year with a hip psoas injury which required surgery in June 2023.

Speaking at the Madrid Open on Wednesday, Nadal said he is hitting the ball well but is still hampered by limitations because of the abdominal issues, especially on serve. He says he is well short of where he would like to be in Paris.

“If I arrive in Paris the way I feel today, I won’t play (at Roland-Garros),” he told reporters in Spanish. “I’ll play Roland Garros if I feel competitive… It won’t be the end of the world or it would not mean that things stop here. There are still the Olympic Games where you have different formats.”

Rafa Nadal:

“If I arrive in Paris the way I feel today, I won’t play. I’ll play Roland Garros if I feel competitive… It won’t be the end of the world or the end of my career. I still have goals after Roland Garros, like the Olympics.”

pic.twitter.com/m2GYSLI9OJ
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 24, 2024

Nadal has said that this is likely to be his last year on Tour but has been struggling to get his body into a position where he can be competitive. In Barcelona, he was well-beaten in the second round by Alex de Minaur. On Thursday, he faces 16-year-old American Darwin Blanch in the first round, with De Minaur again awaiting in round two, should he make it.

“I will do what things I have to do to try to play Paris”

Just being on court again is encouraging for Nadal, who had worried that he would never be in this position again. But for a man who has won 22 Grand Slams, just being there is not what he wants.

“The week has been… average,” he said, in Spanish. “I’ve decided to play for very personal reasons. I don’t know what will happen in the next weeks. I will do what things I have to do to try to play Paris. If I can, I can; if not, that”s the way it is. It’s my reality. I hope I can feel myself able to compete well. If I can’t I’ll be grateful for all the people that helped me in this journey.

Difficult to play with limitations

“At moments I feel myself enjoying playing on court, practising against the best players again, feeling myself more or less competitive,” Nadal said, speaking in English now. “Other moments I feel limitations, and then it’s difficult.

“Because at the end, when you say I would love to be here even if it’s the last chance that for playing here, I would love to be here and just saying: OK, I am here and I am good enough. Even if it’s my last time (in Madrid), I’m going to try my best to have the best result possible.

“Unfortunately today I can’t say that, but I can say a feeling that is very important for me too emotionally is I’m going to be on court tomorrow. Few weeks (ago), I didn’t know if I will be able to play again on the professional tour, so today I am playing.

“It’s not perfect, of course not perfect, but at least I am playing and I can enjoy again, especially in the few tournaments that are so emotional for me. I’m able to enjoy the fun that I can say probably goodbye on court.”

But there’s still hope, Nadal says

However, Nadal said he still has hope that things will turn around and says he needs to be ready to take advantage should it prove to be the case. “Let’s see. I mean, in this sport, I say it plenty of times, but it’s true, things can change very quick, you know. If I am not there to try that change, for sure a change will not happen,” he said.

“So I am here, giving myself a chance. If at some moment my situation is improve so I am able to find better feelings in my body, I need to be ready, you know, and I will not be ready if I am at home without being what I am today.

“So I don’t lose hope. I just accept the situation that I have today, but that not means that in a few weeks the situation can be different. But today the situation is what there is. I’m gonna keep working, I’m gonna keep doing the things I need to do to give myself the possibility to be ready if that change happens. If that happens, then it going to be another conversation.”