Rafael Nadal's retirement dilemma emerges as uncle makes telling statement

22-time grand slam winner Rafael Nadal has confirmed that he will retire at the end of the current tennis season, however, his uncle says that he had initially hoped to stay on for one more year

Rafael Nadal will call it quits on his epic 23-year tennis career at the end of the 2024 season – but his uncle believes he wanted to play for another year.

The 38-year-old Spaniard has racked up a long list of accomplishments since his pro debut in 2001, bagging 14 French Opens, four US Opens, and two Australian Opens and Wimbledon titles a-piece – a total of 22 grand slams. But taking to social media last week, the 'king of clay' announced that he was calling time on his career, citing how limitations have prevented him from playing at his best.

In a video upload, Nadal said: "Hello everyone, I’m here to let you know that I am retiring from professional tennis. The reality is that is has been some difficult years, these last two especially. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations.

"It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make. But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end. And I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined."

However, his uncle Toni Nadal believes that he wanted to have one last blowout in the 2025 season before officially shutting up shop and enjoying his retirement. Speaking to Marca, he said: "Rafa would have liked another good season on clay and that means winning or at least performing at a good level.

"He has not retired as he would have liked. I always told him not to complain because life has treated us better than we expected. Looking back now, you can say why he put it off, but Rafa had the hope of still giving his best version and when he was not convinced, he retired.

"It’s just that his body doesn’t respond. When he forces his body, it suffers from one part or another. The same thing happened to [Roger] Federer, he tried for two years and left."

Despite bagging a boatload of titles in his illustrious career, Nadal has been plagued with injuries over the years which have forced him to withdraw from numerous championships.

The seasoned pro hasn't won a grand slam since his double at the Australian and French Opens in 2022, and was notably absent from the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in 2023. He was also missing from the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open this year, failing to make it out of the first-round of the French Open after being beaten by Alexander Zverev.

A hip injury requiring surgery limited Nadal's appearances in 2023, while a muscular injury in January side-lined him for a large chunk of this year's season. His final tennis tournament comes as the Davis Cup in November, where he will link up with up-and-coming Carlos Alcaraz to represent his nation before hanging up his racket for good.

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