Rafael Nadal Will Never be the Same Again

Despite a strong start to his 2019 season, Rafael Nadal has waned away in the first quarter of the season. The Spaniard, after making it to the finals of the Australian Open 2019 finals, has struggled to make any sort of impact in February and March, having withdrawn from both- the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells as well as the masters tournament Miami Open 2019.

Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former long time coach Toni Nadal opened up on the difficult situation that Rafael Nadal has been facing due to his injuries(predominantly knee and ankle related).

Toni Nadal spoke about his nephew in an exclusive interview with El Pais commenting that Rafael Nadal has merely been a shadow of his original self. “Rafael(Nadal) wants to continue playing, despite his physical problems”, said Toni Nadal.

“That is what will continue to be decisive”,  continued Toni Nadal. “Until when, who knows.” Toni also indicated that Rafael Nadal could end his career in the coming years. “Maybe two or three more years”, said Toni Nadal. “What I’m saying is that Rafael is not a tennis player, he’s an injured person who plays tennis, and that’s very difficult.”

Despite being 5 years younger than Roger Federer, Nadal’s injuries have forced him to ponder over retirement earlier than he thought he would. “I’m not scared of my ending,” Rafael Nadal was quoted saying last month. “I’m aware that it will be an important change in my life, but if I’m honest, I’m very happy outside of tennis, with tennis too, but I have fun doing other things”, said the king of clay.

“We are closer to goodbye, no doubt, but it does not scare me, I’m still very motivated”, he added.
“I like what I do and I work with the maximum enthusiasm to give me options to compete for everything; anyway, I am preparing my future”,  he added.

However, Rafael Nadal was spotted training at the Rafa Nadal Academy, sooner than expected as he gears up to defend 4 title on the dirt, which include 2 Masters 1000 tournaments and the French Open. He is expected to feature at Monte Carlo, which will commence on April 15th. Despite his injury concerns Rafael Nadal will be the strong favorite to dominate the clay court season.