Will Rafael Nadal return to play tennis or will he face the inevitable retirement? Alex Corretja, former world number 2 and two-time finalist at Roland Garros, spoke about his legendary countryman, raising the possibility of retirement. The 22-time Grand Slam champion, as is known, announced in recent days that he would also skip the Laver Cup, a team competition that this year will be played in Berlin from 20 to 22 September.
The Spanish tennis player explained that there are no physical or mental problems, but stated that he does not feel substantially competitive enough to give his contribution to the European team. This decision by Nadal has definitely surprised Corretja who thought that this could be the right opportunity to see Nadal back on the court after the Olympic tournament, in which he lost in the second round in singles to Novak Djokovic and failed to win a medal in doubles with Carlos Alcaraz.
Corretja, who is now a commentator for Eurosport, spoke about Nadal's failure to participate in the Laver Cup, which pits tennis players from Europe against the Rest of the World, and said he was very surprised.
"When I heard that he wasn't going to play, it was a bit of a wake-up call: if he's not ready to play the Laver Cup, when will he be? Honestly, it caught my attention because I thought the Laver Cup was a more relaxed competition, quote, although once they're there, the teams always want to win.
But you can play singles or doubles, he could be more suited to whatever type of commitment. So when I heard that he wasn't going to play, I said to myself: if he's not ready to play the Laver Cup, when will he be? I hope he recovers or when he feels fit again and then he'll go back to where he wants to go," he analyzed.
