"It would have hurt me" - Rafael Nadal reveals reasons why he turned down French Open farewell
Rafael Nadal has revealed the reasons why he chose not to have a farewell ceremony at the French Open this year, stating that it would have hurt him to announce to fans that he had played there for the last time. While the former World No. 1 initially said yes to the proposal by tournament director Amelie Mauresmo, he changed his mind later and told her not to go ahead with it.
In what could be his final campaign at Roland Garros, Nadal fell in the first round to eventual finalist Alexander Zverev in straight sets. While the Spaniard had a chance to address the crowd afterwards, it did not turn out to be quite the ceremony many were hoping for.
Speaking to L'Equipe in a recent interview, the Mallorcan expanded on the incident, admitting that he did not want to bid farewell to fans in Paris after a performance that he did not think was up to par.
At the same time, the 22-time Grand Slam champion clarified that should be be invited again to the French Open for a farewell tribute after he was definitely retired, he would have no qualms with it. As things stand at the moment, he is not sure whether he will bid adieu to tennis at the end of the 2024 season either.
"At first I said yes, but at the last minute I realized that I didn't want it. It would have hurt me to announce that it would be my last time in this tournament knowing that I didn't have the opportunity to prepare as I would have liked... If the tribute takes place when I am retired, I will go as a retiree, I will be there. Before starting this Roland Garros, I was not sure of anything," Rafael Nadal said (via Punto de Break).
Talking about his display at Roland Garros this year, the Spaniard maintained that he had a fantastic training week at the tournament despite coming into the competition short on match practice.
"I arrived in Paris very early to train, I needed it. When you come out of a difficult period, being at Roland Garros gives you extra energy. My training week was fantastic," he said.
The 37-year-old entered the French Open with a 5-3 win/loss record on clay in the lead-up, with a notable win over top 10 player Alex de Minaur at the Madrid Open.
"I enjoyed every moment" - Rafael Nadal on his French Open 2024 appearance
Rafael Nadal emphasized during the interview that while he does not have the results to show for, he enjoyed every moment he spent at the 2024 French Open. The only thing the Spaniard rued was the fact that he could not get himself to the physical fitness level he had at Roland Garros in the weeks before, believing that he could have achieved more had he done so.
"Of course, sport is about results above all, but I give importance to other things and it was a week in which I had a great time playing tennis, I enjoyed every moment. The shape I was in the week before Roland Garros is what I would have liked to have before. of Monte Carlo. If this had happened, I could have dreamed of doing something very different. However, that is not what happened," Nadal said.
Following the end of the clay swing, the 37-year-old has opted to skip the grass swing and Wimbledon. Up next, he will be in action at the ATP 250 Nordea Open in Bastad the week after SW19.