Rafael Nadal right to ‘not push himself’ but latest withdrawal ‘worrying’ ahead of French Open – Mats Wilander

Mats Wilander says Rafael Nadal is right to be cautious with his return because “there is no way” he would fight back from another injury, but admits “it’s worrying” that a French Open swansong is at risk.

Nadal, known as the ‘King of Clay’ after winning a record 14 Roland Garros titles, has battled injuries for more than a year, appearing in just one event since January 2023.

That was in Brisbane in January this year, when he reached the quarter-finals, but the 37-year-old then had to pull out of the Australian Open through injury and has not returned to the court since.

“I think that the best part of Rafael Nadal’s tennis right now is that he’s really trying. He’s very keen to come back,” said Eurosport expert Wilander.

“I like that he’s not pushing himself unless he’s feeling very close to 100% because if he injures himself past a certain point, he’s not coming back.

“He’s 38-years-old this year. He’s not going to come back. There’s no way. You can’t come back at 42. I think he’s playing it carefully.”

Nadal’s withdrawal was a blow to his hopes of featuring at Roland Garros for potentially the last time.

With two months to go until the clay-court Grand Slam gets underway, Nadal admitted that “my body simply won’t allow me” to compete in Monte Carlo.

Wilander admitted he is worried but remains hopeful of seeing the Spanish legend take to the Parisian courts again from May 20.

“I think the only thing that I would like to see from Rafael Nadal is win a few matches on clay before the French Open, and then please show up at the French Open,” Wilander added.

“If he is at 80% of his ability, I would love to see what he can do to a lot of the other guys, and I would just love to see him finish his career at the French Open.

“Of course, I’d prefer not to see him finish his career at all, but am I worried? Yes.

“At the same time, no, because he’s able to practice. Why? Because he’s more relaxed in practice than when you start playing matches.

“He knows this and it’s likelier to injure yourself in matches. But it’s worrying for Rafael Nadal fans because we really, really, really want to see him play one more French Open.”

Although Nadal’s ongoing battle with fitness is a cause for concern, Wilander pointed out that the Spaniard has more experience than most when it comes to organising his calendar to be at peak performance.

“The thing that Rafael Nadal has done better than any player ever in our sport is coming back from injuries,” Wilander said.

“He has literally turned his tennis career into a season. Very few years in the last 20 years has he played throughout the whole year and then had a pre-season and then start up again.

“It’s often been six months on and then three or four months off. And then another three, four months on and then three, four months off.

“I think that no one can ever relate to the mindset that Rafa Nadal has because he’s got used to it. He knows how to handle it because that’s all he knows.

“He most probably would be a little bit surprised if you threw him into the tennis career and said: ‘You have to play five years in a row and you cannot take two months off at any point.’ He wouldn’t know what to do.

“But because he’s so used to taking two months off because of an injury, starting from nothing, getting ready again, I’m not worried at all about him being injured.

“I’m worried that he doesn’t get enough matches because of the confidence level. But I think once he goes to the French Open in three out of five sets, I don’t think confidence is going to make that big a difference.

“I think experience is going to make the biggest difference at the French Open. But taking time off, getting ready again, only Rafael Nadal knows how difficult that is, and he’s made it easy for himself because he’s so used to it.”