Nadal’s uncle predicts venues he could retire at in Sampras comparison

Rafael Nadal’s uncle Toni Nadal has suggested two venues where the legendary Spaniard could end his garlanded tennis career. His former coach Toni also accepted the potential difficulty for Nadal in hanging up the racquet whilst at the top of the sport, like the iconic Pete Sampras.

Nadal, 36, is yet to show any intentions of retirement despite being ravaged by injuries in recent times. The 22-time Grand Slam champion has been sidelined ever since crashing out of the Australian Open second round in January. 

He was expected to be out of action for six to eight weeks after his straight sets defeat to American Mackenzie McDonald, but is still plotting his comeback ahead of the start of the clay season. 

And it is unclear how long the battling warhorse Nadal can continue defying injury setbacks to compete for major titles. He is still recovering from a left hip problem that derailed his Australian Open hopes, and has now slipped out of the world’s top 10 in the ATP rankings for the first time since 2005.

Toni, who ended his long-term coaching stint with Nadal in 2017, has speculated that when his nephew does retire, he could wave goodbye at either the Madrid Open or French Open, two of his most successful tournaments. 

“In Madrid or at Roland Garros,” he told Marca. “The time will come and he will decide. When you lift a trophy you convince yourself that you still have something to give. 

“It’s hard to retire winning. I think Sampras did it. I haven’t talked about that with Rafa. I don’t know how much it fits him. If he fully recovers, let him keep playing and we’ll see.”

Nadal has won his home event in Madrid on five occasions, and will target a record-extending 15th French Open crown at Roland Garros in June, providing he can regain his fitness for the Grand Slam that he has dominated ever since his first title in 2005. 

But it is uncertain whether warrior-like Nadal would be prepared to call time on his career just after a monumental comeback victory. Locked on the same number of Grand Slam titles as his great rival Novak Djokovic, Nadal appears unlikely to follow in the footsteps of Sampras if majors still seem attainable. 

Sampras, a 14-time Grand Slam winner, made the rare decision to depart at the pinnacle of his sport after beating his arch-rival Andre Agassi to win the US Open in 2002.