Federer on Nadal's retirement: being a 'couch potato' not an option yet

Former world number one Roger Federer has expressed optimism that Spain’s legendary tennis star Rafael Nadal will play ‘much longer’. The 37-year-old is often regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 22 Grand Slam titles.

Nadal has struggled with fitness concerns in recent years, and it was because of this that last year, he announced that the 2024 season would be his last. Federer, who enjoyed an incredible rivalry with the Spaniard on the court for more than a decade, was recently quoted in a report in which he expressed optimism about seeing the 14-time French Open winner play for a long time.

"It’s very interesting to follow from afar,” said the 20-time Grand Slam winner. "Because I know how I experienced the end of my career. Maybe it was a little different, since I didn’t play at all until the doubles. What I see is someone who really tries to be on the court. If he says ‘ciao,’ it’s on the court and not from his couch. And I love that, because we can see that he is far from being 100%.I think [choosing when to retire] is so personal. It’s up to him to decide how he wants to do it. I don’t have any information on that, and I hope that, in fact, he will play much longer than we think. But the question is his body, as he says very honestly."