Rafael Nadal discloses reason behind rejecting French Open farewell

Spain’s legendary tennis star Rafael Nadal has revealed the reason behind not accepting farewell in the French Open 2024. The 37-year-old is 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 because of this, he missed three out of four Grand Slams last year. In 2023, the former world number one, on the sidelines to recover from a knee injury, announced that the 2024 season would be his last at the highest level.

Ever since Nadal made that announcement, everyone has been waiting to see him perform at Roland Garros. He is the most successful player in the competition’s history, having lifted the title as many as 14 times. That moment arrived in the first week of June, but it did not go as planned. Nadal was knocked out of the competition after losing in the first round to Germany’s Alexander Zverev in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.

After that defeat, there was no farewell ceremony for Nadal, despite previously being reported in the media, which also surprised the fans. The legendary tennis star was recently quoted in a report explaining why he did not accept the farewell offer at the French Open. Nadal said he initially accepted it but soon realised it was not the right call.

“At first I said yes, but at the last minute I realised that I didn’t want it,” he said. “It would’ve hurt me to announce that it would be my last time in this tournament knowing that I didn’t have the opportunity to prepare as I would’ve liked.”

Nadal will skip the third Grand Slam of the year to participate in the Paris Olympics. The 22-time Grand Slam winner will partner current world number two Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the doubles category.