The former long-time coach of Rafael Nadal has said the Spaniard will be playing at this year’s French Open despite his recent injury struggles.
Toni Nadal, who was the person that introduced his nephew to the sport, told Radio Marca on Friday that the 22-time Grand Slam champion will be returning to action soon. Nadal hasn’t played on the Tour since his second round loss at the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury. Earlier this year he was diagnosed with a psoas injury in his left leg and was told it would take roughly eight weeks to recover. However, his rehabilitation process has taken considerably longer.
“He would like to be competing now, but there is little left for that to happen. He is going to play in Paris, although how he trains in the coming weeks and what he can do in Rome will be important to measure his aspirations there,” El Espanol was quoted as saying to Radio Marca.
The mention of Rome raises speculation that Nadal could return to action at the Foro Italico. However, this is yet to be confirmed by him or a member of his team. The tournament starts a week on Monday and it is the last big event to take place before the French Open.
Nadal’s latest injury blow raises fresh concerns about his future in the sport. He is one of only four players in the top 100 aged 36 or over alongside Richard Gasquet, John Isner and Stan Wawrinka. However, talk of a possible retirement from the sport has been swiftly dismissed by his uncle.
“He is not thinking about retiring, he just wants to recover well and continue competing because he is passionate about this sport,” he stated.
Despite Nadal’s absence, interest in Spanish tennis is still high due to the presence of world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz who is headlining this week’s Madrid Masters where he is the defending champion. The 19-year-old has already won three titles this season and is regarded as one of the favourites in Roland Garros.
Recently, Alcaraz says he does not want to take over from his compatriot and instead create his own path in the sport. However, in the eyes of Toni, the two are similar.
“Both are very intense. They are similar; they reach the limit, they put their rivals in trouble with powerful blows and in important moments they both respond well,” he said.
Toni is at the Madrid Open this week coaching Felix Auger-Aliassime.
