Rafael Nadal won’t stop playing tennis just yet if he manages to recover well from a long-term hip injury, says his uncle Toni Nadal.
Nadal has been struggling with hip issues and last played at the Australian Open in January. Recently, he suggested 2024 would be his last year as a professional tennis player when he decided to withdraw from the French Open.
Toni Nadal, however, believes that won’t be the case if his nephew is well and fit to play.
“Rafael is already 37 years old, the years weigh heavily. What I know, because I talked to him, is that Rafael wants to come back, he wants to recover well. And if he recovers well I think he will want to continue,” he told online portal Clay.
“Then we’ll see because he has to get the results, which won’t be easy, because when you lose the ranking it’s more difficult because you have to compete with the best faster. Then you have to be more days well and you have to play hard matches more times. Let’s see.”
The 22-time grand slam winner is at his Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy in Mallorca working on his comeback. He’s training physically, according to Toni Nadal, “but still cannot train tennis.”
“The doctor advised him not to do so, to wait for a full recovery. In a month’s time he will be able to start training on the tennis court,” he said.
