Rafael Nadal: 5 reasons why 2017 might be his final year in tennis

The unfortunate case of Rafael Nadal’s fall from grace since 2014 has left many people with the same question – where did it all go wrong for the Spaniard? Considered to be one of the world’s best just over three years ago, things look a lot different for the once dominant clay-court specialist.

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray’s rise to the pinnacle of the sport over the last couple of years has put a huge dent in Nadal’s chances of winning another Grand Slam and with age no longer on his side, the upcoming year might just be the last one for him.

On that note, here are five reasons why 2017 might be the last year of tennis for Rafael Nadal.

Poor injury record

Injuries have been a constant menace to Rafael Nadal over the course of his career, and even more so in the past four years.

The Spaniard made a much fabled comeback to tennis after missing out on the 2012 Olympics and subsequent US Open due to a tendonitis problem in his knee by winning the French Open and US Open in 2013 along with eight ATP titles, although the pressure of the schedule did eventually take a toll on his health over the next couple of seasons.

Nadal could only manage three ATP tournament wins and one Grand Slam (French Open) in 2014 before picking up a wrist injury that would cancel the American leg of his season. He returned briefly to play at that year’s ATP World Tour Masters but went on to call off his season, citing the requirement for a surgery to his appendix.

The 14-time Grand Slam winner seemed set for a strong return in 2015 but proceeded to have an odd season by his standards, winning only three ATP titles and no majors despite playing more matches (81) than he did in the previous year (59). His involvement in pre-season tournaments and exhibition matches added to the already congested fixture list, which probably explains why his patchy form extended into the following year as well.

2016 brought along only two ATP tournament wins in yet another year that was marred by injury. Rafael Nadal had to withdraw from Roland Garros after the second round with a wrist injury and went to miss Wimbledon because of it. This was followed by a fourth place finish in the Olympics and a disappointing US Open to signal the end of a tumultuous year.

Loss of youthful spring

During his prime, Nadal was a physical specimen. Despite having to manage his injury issues and participate in many high-profile matches over the years, the Mallorca native was always up for the challenge. But these days, at the age of 30, he has lost some of that energy.

Nadal no longer has the spring in his step he once had; he is forced work a lot harder to get through exhaustive encounters. His tired and damaged knees no longer allow him to swiftly move across the court and make near impossible shots at the right moments. Endurance and stamina, qualities which were once hallmarks of his game, are now amiss.

Following his second round exit in the 2016 Shanghai Masters in China, Nadal’s comments summed up his agreement with his loss of speed.

“…I need to recover a little bit the electricity in my legs” – Rafael Nadal

Problems with technique

Rafael Nadal’s game plan has always involved the proper utilisation of his physical characteristics. His all-action style involves agile movement on court and a strong forehand ability, which allows him to get across powerful shots to the opponent’s baseline while generating a serious amount of topspin.

Over the years, the situation has changed in this regard as well. Nadal barely manages to get any power on his forehand shots, and the magic topspin seems to have diminished with that. His serving have also gone for a toss over the past couple of seasons, despite it never really having been a highlight of his game.

These deficiencies along with his current loss of pace means that opponents are starting to find his shots a lot more predictable, leading to a lot more losses and making his aims for the future seem a lot more unrealistic. 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash recently discussed Rafael Nadal’s fading influence in the game and mentioned the need for the Spaniard to make a few fixes to his game.

“In my opinion he needs to technically fix a couple of things in his game, he needs to get some free points, he needs to get consistency with his depth on his forehand and backhand and he just hasn’t had it the last couple of years – he’s never really had it,” he said, as reported on Sports360.

“When he’s in good form his depth is unbelievably good and when he’s not in good form it’s really poor and the guys are taking advantage of that now.”

Lack of mental strength leading to inconsistency

Rafael Nadal’s track record over the past three years has been on a serious decline. Once a resilient player who thrived in high pressure situations, the 30-year-old has won only nine calendar titles in the last three years – one less than his total in 2013. His record in 2015 and 2016 is especially worrying for fans.

While he did manage to make two quarter-final appearances at the Australian Open and Roland Garros respectively in 2015, he ended the year with 20 singles losses and a win percentage of 75.31% (61 wins). In 2016, he failed to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final for the first time since 2004 and picked up one of the worst season records of his career; ending the season with 14 losses and a win percentage of 73.58% (39 wins).

A part of the problem with Rafael Nadal is that he is devoid of confidence at the moment. Advancing age and injury issues are making it hard for him to cope with the stresses of the modern sport, and the gruelling fixture list isn’t helping his cause either.

The tenacity required to keep playing at the highest level is something that has definitely waned away for him, while advancing age, injury issues and a gruelling fixture list add more pressure to an already under-confident player.

“For Rafa it’s about rebuilding his confidence. Last year we saw him just losing his confidence under pressure,” said Pat Cash, while talking to Sport360 about Rafael Nadal.

“He said it a couple of years ago and it was more obvious this year. At some stage when we get older you just lose your concentration, you lose the ability to handle the stress all the time, day-in, day-out, and Rafa is showing signs of that,” he added.

Competition catching up

With the likes of Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka on the ATP tour and Roger Federer making a comeback in 2017, Rafael Nadal is definitely set for one of his hardest ever seasons on court. Besides them, the world number nine will also have to contend with Nishikori, Del Portro, Cilic and Monfils and younger talent like Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios and Lucas Pouille.

Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic are odds-on favourites for all majors in 2017, so Nadal will have to raise his game to his pre-2014 levels if he aspires to win the 15th Grand Slam of his career. Which seems highly unlikely at this point of time.

If Nadal can stay fit and keep his schedule relatively clear, then there is no reason stopping him from making a mark on the tour this year, especially with Carlos Moya now on his side. Whether he’ll take another trip down memory lane is anyone’s guess, although for now it looks like his career is going to fade away sooner rather than later.