Rafael Nadal’s comeback to the tennis court now looks even more certain than ever. Tennis fans had great hopes for 2023 after Nadal won the Australian Open and French Open in 2022, as well as reaching the Wimbledon semifinals. They believed it may be one of Nadal’s best years since turning 30.
The reality, however, has been quite different. This season, the Spaniard has only appeared in four games. He lost two games in the inaugural United Cup, won his first opening game, and then exited the Australian Open in the second round.
Tony Nadal discloses Rafael Nadal’s Roland Garros dream
Rafael Nadal has been said to return to the court for the Brisbane Open, a preparation for the Australian Open in January. The 37-year-old has been out for more than 10 months this season but his nephew Toni Nadal believes that the former world No 1 “still has the same determination”, and that his dream is to hear his name in a Roland Garros tournament again.
Toni Nadal coached Rafael Nadal from his childhood until 2017, helping him win 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles in the process. He is the director of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca and has also been working with current world No 29 Felix Auger-Aliassime since 2021.
During an interview with RMC Sport, Toni revealed that Rafael Nadal dream is to hear his name pronounced again at Roland Garros: “He has the confidence that if his body is doing well, he thinks he will have the opportunity to do great things at Roland Garros. His dream is to hear his name pronounced again at Roland Garros. This is the most important. He’s not going to go on the court just to be there, he thinks he’ll be competitive. This is why he has to play a lot of tournaments, from the start of the year in Australia. He wants to have another chance. Winning will be very difficult, but not impossible. A person like Rafa must & will believe in himself.”
The Spaniard also outlined the progress he has seen Nadal make in training in recent weeks and expects his level to improve the more he is able to play.
“His movement wasn’t very good at first but over the last three weeks he’s been training at a good level. The important thing is not to try to win, but to have the feeling of playing well,” Nadal continued. “He has the will to still be here, he loves tennis, he loves competition, he loves the game. It’s his dream to play the tournaments he loves one last time.
Rafael Nadal’s Roland Garros record over the years
Rafael Nadal has been hailed the King of Clay because of his amazing record in the court. The Spanish star has won the Roland Garros title for a record of 14 times and has won 112 matches and suffered only three losses while playing on the clay. Nadal turned pro in 2003 but had to wait two years for his French Open debut and he showed class by winning the title for four successive years.
The two players to defeat Nadal at the French Open are Swedish Robin Soderling in the 4th round of the 2009 Open and Novak Djokovic in the 2015 quarterfinals and the 2021 semifinals. In 2016, Rafael Nadal withdrew with a wrist injury before his 3rd round match against fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers.
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