Former Spanish Tennis player Carla Suarez Navarro believes that Tennis legend Rafael Nadal is close to retiring from the sport and it might happen sooner than most people expect.

Former Spanish Tennis player Carla Suarez Navarro believes that Tennis legend Rafael Nadal is close to retiring from the sport and it might happen sooner than most people expect.

In an interview with AS, the former World No. 6 mentioned that her compatriot and 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal might soon decide to hang up his shoes and is in the last phase of his Tennis career. She also cited his injury troubles as well as physical problems and decline as the major contributing factors behind her opinion. However, she also added that Nadal is one of the most determined players on the tennis circuit and his mental fortitude and strength can never be doubted or taken for granted.

“Obviously, Rafa continues, but we are in his last years. Time passes for everyone, and he has been subjected to a lot of demand. Physically, he is no longer what he was, although mentally he will always surprise us,” she remarked.

Nadal has had a spectacular year full of highs and lows. Battling with a severe foot injury that forced him to miss the second half of the 2021 season, the Spaniard returned to the court in style and bested Daniil Medvedev to win the Australian Open and begin the year on a phenomenal note.

He continued from that point onwards and went on to win 20 matches and another two titles in Melbourne Summer Set and Mexican Open before it came to an end in the final of the Indian Wells where he lost to Taylor Fritz. However, it proved to be one of the best starts in Nadal’s career.

The 36-year-old then ensured that normal business would resume at his stomping ground in Roland Garros and lifted yet another French Open title to take his Grand Slam record to 22, ahead of both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

However, his momentum was completely thrown off the rails when in his pursuit for the third Grand Slam of the year at Wimbledon, Nadal was forced to pull out of his semifinal encounter, citing an abdominal tear. 

Thereafter, at the US Open, he had his fair share of struggles with his form and was knocked out by Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round, handing him his first Slam defeat of 2022.