Rafael Nadal announced his retirement from tennis in November last year at the age of 38 but it appears that the Spaniard is now in high demand just a few months on from his bombshell announcemen
Rafael Nadal is set to be offered a special role at Roland Garros just months after he retired from tennis. The 22-time Grand Slam winner announced his decision to hang up his racket in October last year.
The 38-year-old’s final appearance on court came at last year’s Davis Cup finals before the Spaniard bid farewell to the sport. But it appears that he won’t be away from the spotlight for very long at all.
The iconic former star featured in a special on court-presentation on day one of the French Open alongside former opponents Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. A plaque was unveiled in honour of the 14-time winner, with event boss Amelie Mauresmo suggesting that Nadal could be in line for a new role at Roland Garros.
She said: “It’s now the common desire of the tournament and of Rafa to have some form of collaboration. We focused on what was happening this year with the communications campaign and homage.
“But we will resume our discussions so this story the tournament has had with Rafa over the past 20 years may continue in one way or another.”
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Nadal confirmed his retirement from tennis in October last year in an emotional video to fans, explaining that his chronic injury issues had just grown too much to cope with. Speaking in February, he revealed he was enjoying his retirement and was now almost pain-free.
He said: “Now I’m slightly in pain, I’m honestly not pushing myself. I’m living with very little pain and that’s very important to me.
“In the end, getting up and walking down the stairs normally is huge progress for me in my daily life, being able to live with the peace of not being in too much pain.”
“I just retired, three months ago, and changes take time,” the Spaniard added. “For me personally, I had respect for what the change would be, but I’m very happy in this new stage of my life.
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“We’ll take it day by day, there are a lot of things to get used to and, in some ways, I have to discover what I’m really motivated to do in this new life. I’m confident it will also be exciting.”
Nadal won his first French Open title in 2005, with his final crown coming in 2022. Djokovic won the following tournament but Carlos Alcaraz has since claimed the baton for Spain. He has won the last two French Open titles including this year after beating Italian star Jack Sinner in an epic five-hour final.
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