It’s too early to rule Rafael Nadal out of the Grand Slam race, particularly on his favorite surface! Since his first-round exit from the French Open, there have been various speculations about Rafa’s fast-approaching retirement. But the Spaniard is famous for his ‘never give up style.’ And with the same grit, he has ruled out bidding adieu to professional tennis anytime soon. However, this time it wasn’t due to sheer grit but another factor was in play for him to make such a sensational decision.

In a recent interview with French Newspaper L’Equipe, the Spaniard shared his conviction to return to play Roland Garros 2025 edition. Nadal made it to the cover page of the magazine as he declared his tennis journey to extend a year longer if not more. Consequently, a tennis blogger took to Twitter to celebrate it. Appreciating the coverage, he said, “Wow, great front cover of L’Equipe, with a new interview with Rafael Nadal!”

What would certainly surprise the tennis circuit was the fact that ‘the Rafael Nadal’ had to rediscover his ‘pleasure’ of tennis again! The blogger further added, “Rafa says that he has ‘rediscovered the pleasure of playing tennis’, and doesn’t rule out playing Roland Garros 2025!” With this, he certainly answered the question of how much tennis is left in his tank. His gasoline is not going to end this year.

Rafael Nadal’s coach, Carlos Moya, revealed in a May interview with L’Equipe that Nadal had seriously considered retirement before competing in the Roland-Garros tournament. This was the most surprising news to come out of the interview. “There were days when we could hardly do anything…We knew when he said that, ‘I can’t do it anymore’, that the hours that were going to pass after that, he was going to think about it and keep going. We listened to him, we respected this moment and the next day, we went back to training, forgetting about it a little. But this is something we had never heard before.”

Sometimes, even stalwarts need a little bit extra to supplement their habits, for their comeback. But this re-discovery shouldn’t be surprising as per his coach Carlos Moya’s earlier claims. The 38-year-old had tried to give up on tennis multiple times due to recurring injuries. However, if Rafa is hopeful of playing the French Open next year, he needs to attain 100% fitness before he can compete for the title.  However, fans need not wait to watch the ‘King’ play on clay, as the Olympics is around the corner!

Rafael Nadal to play ATP250 before the Paris Olympics

Recently, Nadal confirmed his presence at the Paris Olympics, with the heir apparent to his throne, Carlos Alcaraz. Though the former is struggling to regain his form, as was seen at the Roland Garros, with his first-round exit. However, the former world no.1 is ready to give it all as he has begun preparation to try another hand at the clay title for Spanish glory!

Consequently, fans would get to enjoy the Spaniard’s tennis at another event, before the Paris Olympics. The ATP 250 event as he tests his form for July’s quadrennial event. As he explained the thought process for this unexpected decision. “In order to prepare for the Olympic Games, I will play the tournament in Bastad, Sweden. A tournament that I played earlier in my career and where I had a great time both on and off the court. Looking forward to seeing you all there,”

Nadal is expected to appear in the  ATP 250 as he is in the sunset years of his tennis career. In the process, he would be skipping the Wimbledon Open, though not the favorite court. Nadal has conquered the turf only 2 times, that too at the peak of his career. However, with the latest news, fans would be rejoicing to be able to view his tennis in Paris next year!