Rafael Nadal says this may not be his last French Open

PARIS (AP) – Rafael Nadal smiled. He joked. He looked optimistic. He is playing well and feeling better in training. He is eager to get started at Roland Garros after suffering from hip and abdominal problems for a long time.

Oh, and then there’s this little tidbit he dropped during a pre-tournament press conference on Saturday: This French Open might not turn out to be the 14-time champion’s last appearance at his favorite event , after all.

Because of his age – he turns 38 on June 3 – and his past injuries and statements that 2024 would be his last year on tour, everyone from other players to fans to the media have assumed that it would be his farewell appearance at the French Open.

Asked if that was accurate, Nadal smiled and replied: “Don’t assume that.”

“It’s very fortunate that this is my last Roland Garros,” Nadal said. “But what if I have to tell you that this is 100% my last Roland Garros? Sorry, but I won’t do it. Because I can’t predict what happens.

The Spaniard, who turns 38 on June 3, has missed much of the past two seasons due to health problems, including hip surgery that forced him to sit out the French Open a year ago, his first absence since his early teenage years. . He’s just 7-4 in 2024, and after a lopsided loss at the Italian Open two weeks ago, there were doubts about whether he would even make the tournament on clay beaten in Paris.

But he showed up and practiced in front of a raucous crowd this week. Because his ranking is so low after so little activity – once No. 1, he was No. 276 this week – Nadal did not benefit from a ranking and was drawn to face the top seed n°4 Alexander Zverev in a confrontation which will be Focus on Monday, second day of the tournament.

“Ideally I would have liked to play him later in the tournament, but that’s how it is now. He is not seeded this year. I’m seeded,” Zverev said. “You know, it’s a tough draw, but it’s a tough draw for both of us. We’ll see how it goes.

Nadal said he had been training well and felt like he could play with anyone now, a feeling that had been fleeting for a while.

“I would probably say this is the first week since I’ve been coming back to play tennis that I’ve been able to run properly without having a lot of limitations,” he said. “That encourages me.”

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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis editor since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich

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