" What else could come next?": Former Wimbledon winner questions Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal's stay in tennis

Former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich believes that both Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Spain’s Rafael Nadal has played too long and should have retired earlier. Both are regarded as two of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era.

The two were also part of the original ‘Big Three’, which consisted of the likes of Switzerland’s Roger Federer as well. Former world number two Stich has been recently quoted in a report by Tennis 365 where he stated that both Djokovic and Nadal should’ve retired from the sport earlier. The 1991 Wimbledon believes that there is not much to achieve for the two former world number ones.

“With Novak, it’s a bit different [to Nadal],” he said. “He has always surprised you. They have all surprised us at certain times in their careers. But I would have liked Rafael to say ‘I’m quitting’ after his 14th French Open victory. I would have also liked Novak to call it quits after winning the gold medal. What else could come next? The eleventh Australian Open victory? If that drives him, all good. But at some point, as I felt, you don’t want to lose to the number 30, 40 or 50 in the world and have to work so hard. Finding the way out is always difficult.”

Nadal, who has struggled with fitness concerns in the recent past, has already announced that he would retire from professional tennis at the end of the ongoing season. His final appearance will be in the Davis Cup, where he will represent his country, Spain. On the other hand, Djokovic, who failed to win a Grand Slam for the first time in seven years in 2024, has recently announced that he still wants to continue playing at the highest level despite completing his trophy cabinet this season.