(PHOTO CREDITS: GETTY IMAGES)
By: Ariel Litinski
Whether you follow tennis or not, chances are you have heard the name “Rafael Nadal” or “Rafa” at least once or twice. The Spanish 24-time major champion and renowned member of the Big 3 is currently playing in what he claims to be his last year on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour. Nadal has been training extremely hard to prepare his body for multiple events this year. However, even with such extensive training, Rafa has been struggling to prepare himself on the fitness side of things for participating in tournaments this year.
With the last major of the year already in the books, Rafa does not have much more tournaments left in his last season. Nadal has already withdrawn from a large number of tournaments this year: the Australian Open, the Qatar Open, Indian Wells, the Monte-Carlo Masters, Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and most recently, the Laver Cup. With this being so, it is safe to say that many Rafa fans around the world are unhappy with his current shape.
However, it is impossible to say that 2024 has been a completely unsuccessful season for the Spaniard. To start, Rafa made a nice run at the Brisbane International ATP 250 event, making it all the way to the quarter-finals. Struggling to find success in tournaments after Brisbane, Nadal shocked the entire tennis world by reaching the final of the Bastad Open (ATP 250), beating the 5th and 4th seeds in his spectacular run.
Rafael Nadal is known for his stereotypical clay-court player playstyle as he has won Roland-Garros, also known as the French Open, an astounding 14 times throughout his career. When Rafa arrived to participate in the 2024 Roland-Garros, he drew 4th seed Alexander Zverev in the first round, who beat Nadal in straight sets and went on to play Carlos Alcaraz in the final that year.
Many Nadal fans were particularly surprised to hear of Rafa’s absence in this year’s Laver Cup as they thought it would be his last ever professional event. The is because of the 2022 Laver Cup, where a member of the Big 3: Roger Federer said goodbye to tennis. After losing a doubles match to Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe, Federer burst into tears as he said his farewells to his teammates and gave one last speech as a professional tennis player.
Federer’s retirement was very tough for members of the tennis community. Roger Federer was known for his flair and skill, winning 20 major titles in his career. Similar to Rafa, it was a physical aspect of Roger’s that held him back during his last year on tour: his knee pain. The first clear appearance of his knee pain was during Wimbledon 2021. The Swiss player lost to Hurkacz in the quarter-final, losing 6-0 in the third set and barely being able to run for the duration of it.
It seemed pretty clear to tennis fans that Rafael Nadal’s final tennis match would be played at this year’s Laver Cup in Berlin. However, as always, tennis is full of surprises. As Rafa withdraws from the 2024 Laver Cup, the tennis community is left on the edge of their seats waiting to find out when they will ever get to see the Spanish great step on the court one last time.
Scribemen Magazine 