"I don't want to close the door" admits Rafael Nadal with final French Open appearance not set in stone

Rafael Nadal gave hope to his fans that he could yet return in 2025 to the French Open with his usual diplomatic answer without giving too much away. He said that it is likely to be his last French Open, but that he hasn't ruled out returning in 2025.

Journalists who were present noted that it seemed that if he lost crushingly to Alexander Zverev in Paris that he would return as he wouldn't want to go out without a fight. He has also hinted also in Rome when he didn't take his send-off that he could return to that tournament with Paolo Lorenzi supposedly saying that he could come back in 2025.

So does the Nadal train roll on? He is feeling good and wants to put right a poor Rome. He is not fully sure what the future holds and having the decision in his hands is certainly one he relishes.

"Is it my last Roland-Garros? It’s very probable yes, but I can’t confirm at 100%. I don’t want to close the door," he said.

"First of all, I think that whether they have to pay me a tribute on the court or not, I think it will come out naturally, with the public, and I don't necessarily have to close the door. to what may happen in the future. It is not necessary. If I do not return to play, I will return to do what I have to do without having to play; if I return to play, they will do it next year," he continued as per Punto de Break.

"On the other hand, I am happy doing what I do. My body is evolving well, better than I expected a month and a half ago. I am not training with too much pain, the limitations that I have felt week after week, those that took away my hope of continuing, I see that this week they are less, not to say that I have few. If that lasts over time, I think I can continue to be competitive.

"What I don't want is to be left with the feeling of saying: 'I'm retiring, and I've tried... what, a week in optimal conditions?' If I had been able to make the transition, all these months of January until Monte Carlo, and I arrive in the conditions that I am today at Monte Carlo and play the entire gravel tour and see that there are no limitations... but I don't want to be left with doubt , internally, to say that I haven't played for two years, with a very long recovery, I have been injured again... maybe in a month or four days I will be injured again and I see that it is not worth it, I'm sorry but it has to end, as I felt a month and a half ago.

"Today it feels a little different, but experience tells me that there is a possibility of this happening again. There are many possibilities that this will be my last Roland Garros, but I don't want to force myself to tell you that it is 100% my last Roland Garros.

"Madrid was my last Madrid: if I were playing next year, Madrid is a tournament in which I have already closed a door and I couldn't be more grateful, but I have been left without playing some events that I would have liked to play... and the truth is that I want to give myself, making a very different calendar and with very different objectives, that opportunity. I have the support of my family and I have to explore how far I can go. It wouldn't help me internally to say that this is my last tournament because, honestly, I'm feeling better. Let's see what happens."