Is it time for Nadal to hang up his racquet?

Rob Worthington, Sport Editor, questions whether Rafa Nadal should retire following his Australian Open exit

THE 27th of September 2022 marked the end of an era for men’s tennis. After a truly illustrious career, picking up 20 Grand Slam titles along the way as well as the hearts of hundreds of millions around the world, Roger Federer played his final competitive tennis match.

But Federer’s retirement wasn’t just significant from an individual perspective. From grassroots tennis right to the very top of the game, his decision to exit the sport has and always was going to have an impact on many.

But arguably most heart crushing for tennis fans was the sobering realisation that the greatest rivalry in tennis history had finally come to an end on an official basis. Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, the greatest three mens players of all time, would never again play in the same tournament.

Signs of decline had been prevalent in Federer’s game for a fair while prior to his retirement, but there was always hope he’d return to the court and collect a few more wins amid the latter stages of his career being plagued by injury.

As for Djokovic, he can still be considered the best around. The 35-year-old has had to deal with fewer fitness issues when compared to his two great rivals and isn’t showing many signs of slowing down.

Don’t be surprised if the Serbian matches Rafael Nadal’s record-breaking achievement of collecting 22 Grand Slam titles in a few days. He’s the favourite to win the Australian Open in Melbourne, a tournament he has serially won throughout his career.

Talk of the Australian open hands me an apt opportunity to bring Rafael Nadal into the conversation. Nadal unfortunately will not be able to extend his current record of 22 Grand Slam titles as he has already crashed out of the tournament down under.

The Spaniard was played off the park by Mackenzie McDonald last week. No. 65 in the world dumps out no. two in the world in straight sets. Not a particularly good look for Nadal.

Nadal did of course sustain what looked to be a pretty painful hip injury late in the match in fairness to him. He’s set to miss six to eight weeks of the season as a consequence of that injury. But it would be far-fetched to suggest that issue caused Nadal’s poor Australian Open performance; he looked off the pace.

And even Nadal’s greatest supporters would be lying if they hadn’t considered the prospect of the 36-year-old bringing an end to his stunning career sooner rather than later. Nadal is still playing at a very high level, but from two key perspectives, he is entering dangerous territory.

It is widely known that Nadal has put his body through a fair deal of stress in order to ensure he has been able to remain competitive on the court in the final years of his career. Painkillers have helped him to manage shoulder, arm, elbow, knee, and back issues in recent years. And his latest issue concerns his hip.

The Spaniard has already terminally damaged his body. Many believe he’ll be in a wheelchair pretty soon after he retires, but it appears to be the case that he is happy to pay the physical price of continuing to play as long as he keeps winning.

And given the quality of player Nadal is, he’ll back himself to keep competing at the top for a fair while yet. Granted, he wasn’t at his best against McDonald in Australia, but flashes of his brilliance were still visible.

That brings me on to the second perspective Nadal needs to scrutinise carefully if those around him are sug- gesting it might be time to bring an end to his career. The legacy perspective.

The world no. two needs to ensure that by continuing to play at the highest level he doesn’t tarnish his legacy within the game. It’s not as if his level has drastically dropped, but if he is consistently knocked out early in major tournaments this year, people will begin to take note.

In football we have seen public opinion on Cristiano Ronaldo change to a significant degree over the course of the last six months. Not long ago he was regarded by many as the greatest of all time, now he’s slipped out of the top 10 for many as a result of his antics at the end of his career.

Ronaldo’s stubbornness has ended up costing him. He clearly still feels he’s one of the best in the game, but the distinct lack of offers from English clubs when he became a free agent after his Manchester United exit suggested otherwise.

It’s a similarly delicate situation for Nadal. He may feel has more to contribute. In the eyes of many he still does.

However, if he were to retire in the near future, he would secure his legacy and protect himself from any more physical deterioration. It’s something he simply must consider.