Rafael Nadal “obviously” has plans for his retirement, but he is “keeping his cards close to his chest,” believes former professional player and respected expert Naomi Broady.
All eyes are on if and when Nadal will announce his retirement date, and rumors are circulating about when he might end his epic career.
Some had predicted that the former world number one and 22-time Grand Slam winner would end his career at the French Open or the Olympic Games – but he continued playing after both events.
After withdrawing from the US Open, Nadal will play in the Laver Cup in Berlin next month, an event that many believe could be his last.
And Broady believes that this could well be the case.
In conversation with Sky SportsThe former British star says Nadal will not retire until he is “completely ready” – but there could be an “incredible” celebration in Berlin.
“Nadal clearly has a plan in mind, but he’s keeping his cards to himself,” Broady said.
“As we saw with Sir Andy (Murray), these guys will not step back – and rightly so – until they feel completely ready.
“I think Rafa still enjoys tennis a lot. They all just love the sport so much and if he can continue, I think he would love to. That’s why I think he didn’t announce his departure at Roland Garros.
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“I think he thought, ‘If there’s any chance, I’ll definitely come back here.’ But it just depends on his body and unfortunately his body didn’t cooperate.
“If he decides to do it at the Laver Cup, like Roger Federer did, and can have this really incredible celebration that would be fitting of his career, that would be incredible.
“I think a lot of people thought he would have chosen to have such a celebration at the Olympics – at Roland Garros at Philippe-Chatrier – and playing for his country, but who knows? We just don’t know.”
After his doubles loss at the Olympics – his last appearance on the tennis court – Nadal admitted that he had “complete freedom” regarding the rest of his career.
He said: “I have complete freedom and I think I have spent my whole life trying to make the decision how and when I feel it.
“I’m a pretty quiet person in that regard and I need my time. When I know what my next step is, I’ll let you know, but right now my next step is to go home, spend time with my family and relax.
“These were exciting months because I started playing tennis again. But they were also hard months because I experienced many difficult moments, disappointments, but also beautiful moments… now I have to deal with everything, analyse it well and see how I feel.”
Read more: The 10 men with the most hard court titles: Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer tied, Rafael Nadal 8th.
