"It’s a massive, massive hole that nobody can fill": Navratilova on Nadal's absence from Roland Garros amid retirement bombshell

The 2023 edition of Roland Garros won't feature Rafael Nadal and according to former legendary player Martina Navratilova, it's a massive hole that nobody can fill.

Rafael Nadal will forever go down as the most dominant player at Roland Garros because it's simply impossible to comprehend how any player could eclipse what he did at the event. He won it 14 times and lost only 3 matches in total while winning over 100 matches (112 to be precise). Those numbers are insane and nobody is beating that. No chance.

That is why Rafael Nadal will be thoroughly missed at this year's Roland Garros because the event is simply not the same without him. He has a statue in front of the main court which just shows how important he is to the event and for Navratilova, it's a hole that can't be filled. It is just not the same:

“A massive hole. When somebody has dominated a tournament as much as Rafa has dominated this. For almost two decades, it has been Rafael Nadal against the field. Now everybody thinks they have a chance to win because Rafa’s not there. Even though he hasn’t been playing, it’s a massive, massive hole that nobody can fill."