Rafael Nadal’s season has been criticized by Toni Nadal following what he called a campaign “marred by continual inconvenience.“
The 36-year-old accomplished two noteworthy victories by claiming the Australian Open against all odds and his 14th Roland-Garros title.
Additionally, Nadal has now climbed to No. 2 in the ATP world rankings.
However, Toni still thinks that the season has been disappointing in many ways,
especially since injuries prevented him from taking advantage of his other possibilities at Wimbledon and the US Open.
For most of the year, Nadal’s likely impending retirement was a concern.
Toni said his nephew would stay as long as he can compete for major titles, especially after being sidelined with recurring niggles.
“I think that as long as he feels he has a chance of winning, he will continue,”
Toni Nadal spoke with Diario AS.
“When he sees that he has no options, if he goes to a tournament and has no chance of winning, I don’t think he will play. In the end, he has won too much to fold badly.
“How much time does Rafa have left? I don’t know, it will clearly depend on his rivals, on his body.
“Rafael plays for him, he doesn’t think about whether Carlos Alcaraz, David Ferrer or even Djokovic is there.”
Toni thought it was a good year, but Rafael thought it could have been “an extraordinary season,”
if he hadn’t experienced physical problems in the latter half of the year.
“It could have been an extraordinary season, but it has been marred by the continual inconvenience he has had,”
he stated.
“The results went well because he won Australia and Roland-Garros, but you leave with a bitter taste in your mouth.
“At Wimbledon, he couldn’t play a semi-final when he was playing well and was a clear candidate for the title; there were also problems in New York.
“What an athlete wants above all else is to be well and play, and also win.”
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