Rafa Nadal, now it’s really over: the Majorcan champion seems to be one step away from retirement. But the bad news doesn’t end there.
The one played last May 27 against Sascha Zverev may have been his last appearance at Roland Garros, which he won fourteen times in his career. Rafa Nadal, immediately after the defeat to the German in the match valid for the first round, did not want to officially say goodbye to his most loyal audience, admitting that he does not yet know if he will be able to tread the clay of the central court “Philippe Chatrier” again next year. It goes without saying, however, that the hopes of seeing him at work again at his favorite Slam are slim to none.
And yet in the French capital a week ago everything was ready for a grand ceremony so that a timeless champion like the Majorcan could be properly saluted (and paid tribute). One who on the shredded brick set record after record, proving himself for a long time almost unbeatable. Surely Nadal will find that court again in a few months at the Olympics, the next event in which he will do everything to participate, but it will not be the same. The time for retirement, meanwhile, appears ever closer. The physical problems that have forced him to stay away from the scene in the last year and a half strongly condition him. And what we have seen at work in the most recent outings is not even