This might not turn out to be Rafael Nadal’s last French Open, after all
Rafael Nadal says this might not be his last French OpenBy HOWARD FENDRICHAP Tennis WriterThe Associated PressPARIS
PARIS (AP) — This might not turn out to be Rafael Nadal’s last French Open, after all. The 14-time champion at Roland Garros said Saturday that he is not 100% sure he won’t play again at the Grand Slam tournament.
Nadal has missed much of the last two seasons because of hip and abdominal muscle issues, and he is just 7-4 in 2024. There had been some doubt after a lopsided loss at the Italian Open two weeks ago whether he would even enter the clay-court event in Paris at all.
But he did show up, and has been practicing this week. Nadal, who turns 38 on June 3, was drawn to face No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev in a showdown that will be everyone’s focus on Monday, Day 2 of the tournament.
Asked Saturday whether he had decided if this will be his final French Open, given that everyone is assuming it will be, Nadal smiled and replied: “Don’t assume that.”
“It’s a big, big chance that it’s going to be my last Roland Garros,” he said. “But if I have to tell you it’s 100% my last Roland Garros, sorry, but I will not. Because I cannot predict what’s going on.”
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
