Rafael Nadal remains undecided on retirement date

Spain’s legendary tennis star Rafael Nadal has once again refused to give a clear date about his retirement. The 38-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 throughout his career. It was because of this reason, he ended up missing three out of the four Grand Slams in 2023. During his time off the court, the former world number one announced that the 2024 season would be his last at the highest level.

Since then, there has been rumours about whether Nadal will actually retire this year or will he try to be back next season and give it one last try. The Spaniard returned to the court earlier this year, but results has not gone his way. He recently announced that he will not take part in the US Open to keep himself fit for the Laver Cup later this year.

Nadal was once again asked about his retirement but he refused to give it a confirm date. "I'm not in a hurry to make a decision about my future,” he said as quoted by Spanish sports media outlet Marca. “What is certain is that I will be in the Laver Cup and then we will see.”

The Manacor-born star was seen sitting in a Spanish La Liga fixture between Mallorca and Real Madrid, which ended with a score of 1-1 on August 18. Nadal recently played in the Paris Olympics, where he represented Spain in two categories. In the singles category, he lost in the second round to Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-4. In the doubles category, he and his partner, Carlos Alcaraz, lost in the quarterfinal to the pair of America’s Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram with a score of 6-2, 6-4.