Rafa will speak at 4pm from his academy in Manacor. According to some Spanish media he could announce his renunciation in Paris
No Roland Garros and indefinite (definitive?) stop with the word “retirement” making the tennis world tremble. The press conference that Rafael Nadal has called for tomorrow, at 4 pm, in his Academy in Manacor, casts shadows over his future. Certainly the next one, that is, participation in Roland Garros, his favorite tournament, won fourteen times. Rafa’s team has informed that Nadal will hold the press conference to report his participation in France. “Whether he will play or not and the reasons will only be communicated tomorrow”, they let the entourage know. Giving up Roland Garros could also require that pinch of solemnity, given the link between him and that tournament, too little to reduce it to a message on social media.
The Spanish media are divided on the possibility that Rafa announces his withdrawal in Paris or just wants to call a conference to explain what his conditions really are. Nadal lost more than 1500 points in the standings and dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since April 2005 (currently he is No.15). The second-degree ileo-psoas injury initially envisaged a stop of a maximum of two months, but the times have already almost doubled, a sign that he really doesn’t want to know about healing. A video is circulating these days of him appearing sore, tired, fatigued, leaning on his knees during a workout. Therefore, it is said that in the press conference he will not only announce his no in Paris, but also something more drastic, from an indefinite stop, perhaps a goodbye to 2024.