When Rafael Nadal officially bid farewell to professional tennis in April last year, his words rang clear and cold after retirement: “The truth is I don’t miss it. In fact, I miss it zero.” After a legendary 23-year career, it seemed the Spaniard was ready to turn the page completely! Since his emotional retirement and the headline-making not missing the court remark in April, Rafael Nadal had stayed away from the court until just days ago, when he made a heartfelt return to his cherished Roland Garros for a special tribute at his iconic “fortress.” Now, whispers of a comeback are beginning to swirl, not for a full-fledged return, but for something far more sentimental and possibly iconic.
According to Spanish outlet CLAY, Toni Nadal, Rafa’s longtime coach and uncle, recently hinted at a surprising development during an interview with CLAY and RG Media. He teased the possibility of Nadal stepping back onto the court, not alone, but with none other than his greatest rival and closest friend off the court, Roger Federer. “I imagine that he would like to do some exhibition soon with Federer to be able to give back a little bit of everything that tennis gave him and what tennis has meant to him. For people it would be very special to see the three of them playing again. And yes, I think they will have to do something, because I suppose that people will be motivated to see them play later on,” Toni revealed.
Image Credits – Imago
Toni went deeper, offering insight into why Rafa might return for these exhibition matches despite his emotional retirement. “I think I’ve been close enough to him to get to know him a little bit and know that he would be excited to be able to play with Federer. Tennis has been a big part of his life… and you don’t completely erase it from one day to the next. After these months away from the courts, I think that at some point he will want to train again and feel that he touches the ball well. I’m convinced that soon, quite soon, he’ll be playing,” Toni reflected, indicating that we might very well see him back in his form in 2026.
*The interview has been translated from Spanish
This is a developing report…
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