With Federer Gone, Will Nadal and Djokovic Soon Follow?

Arguably the greatest tennis player that ever lived, Swiss-born Roger Federer recently announced his retirement from the sport after a glittering career that spanned more than two decades.

Now that Federer has gone, does this mean that close rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will also soon retire from the sport? While some say they are certain to hang up their rackets for good quite soon, others say that they still both have a few years left in them yet.

The chances of Nadal and Djokovic retiring any time soon are still relatively slim. One of the things that put recent retirement rumours to bed is the fact that both players have publicly stated that they will NOT be retiring in the immediate future. They both intend to carry on playing for the foreseeable future. However, the two players are not young anymore, so it’s only a matter of time before they stop playing.

Roger Federer retired from tennis at the ripe old age of 41. In comparison, Spain’s Rafael Nadal is currently 36 years old, and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic is 35. If both carry on playing tennis as long as Federer played, it means that Nadal has another five years max and that Djokovic has another six years. Both players may not last this long, but they are both still in peak condition, so they should at least have a couple of years left in them.

You will also see that every major sports betting site currently still has plenty of open markets available for these two players. Bet on tennis today, for example, and you can find several Nadal and Djokovic betting markets available for the Australian Open and French Open.

Let’s take a closer look at the current odds of these two players winning the Australian Open. Right now, at many of today’s most trusted online sportsbooks, you will find that Novak Djokovic is the odds-on favourite to win the Australian Open and that Rafael Nadal is only the fourth odds-on favourite to win the event outright behind Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.

You will see that Nadal is currently priced at around +900 in American/Moneyline odds, which is 9/1 in UK fractional odds, and 10.00 in European decimal odds. In comparison, the odds-on favourite, Djokovic, is currently priced at around +160 (which is 8/5, or 2.60). In other words, Djokovic would be a much safer bet than Nadal.

If you look at the chances of one of these two players winning the French Open, you will see that Carlos Alcaraz is more likely to win at +225 (9/4, or 3.25). Novak Djokovic and Nadal are slightly behind in terms of odds. They are currently the joint-second odds-on favourites to win the French Open outright. They are both currently priced at around +250 (5/2, or 3.50), whereas the favourite, Alcaraz, has slightly better odds of winning and is now priced at around +225 (9/4, or 3.25) at most sites.

Roger Federer has won every major trophy there is to win in tennis on multiple occasions, and throughout his time playing, he has pocketed a whopping US$130,594,339 in career earnings (the third all-time leader in earnings). He has won the Australian Open, the French Open, the US Open, and Wimbledon, plus he won a silver medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Federer has also won many doubles tournaments, and he was often ranked number one in the official world tennis rankings for long periods of time. He is one of the most celebrated players to ever grace the sport, and for many people, he will always be remembered as the best ever tennis player.