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Rafael Nadal Retirement Looms As He Pulls Out Of French Open And Wimbledon

By Jenny Cox
Published on: 12:09 PST, Jun 1, 2016

Rafael Nadal might hate to admit it, but his retirement is looming in the horizon. Despite the fact that the Spaniard has worked so hard to bring back his game pre-injury, it looks like it is the same wrist that made him pull out of this year’s French Open and Wimbledon.

“A downbeat tennis season dipped deeper into a minor key on Friday when Rafael Nadal, who has won the French Open nine times, withdrew from the tournament because of a left wrist injury,” reports New York Times. “The abrupt announcement sent shock waves through Roland Garros, where Nadal has cast the longest shadow across the red clay for more than a decade, winning more singles titles here than any other player in history.”

He went into this year’s French Open with much hope after winning Monte Carlo and Barcelona Open, both clay court tournaments. But it looks like those tournaments were major culprits that may have aggravated his wrist injury, pushing him more and more into the possibility of retirement.

“Rafael Nadal of Spain beat the two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori of Japan, 6-4, 7-5, to win the Barcelona Open for the ninth time Sunday, equaling Guillermo Vilas’s record of 49 career clay-court championships,” reports New York Times. “Nadal, a winner of 14 Grand Slam singles events, added this title to one from Monte Carlo last week as he continued to regain form on his favorite surface ahead of the French Open.”

Even the press had changed the way they talked about Rafa’s performance this year, becoming more and more positive as the year progressed from spring to summer.

“We lament that his consistency has slipped,” a writer stated on Sports Illustrated. “But even that implies that he’s still capable of greatness. Even with a first round loss in Australia, he’s playing Top Five tennis in 2016. He appears to be healthy. And the next Grand Slam is one he’s claimed NINE times.”

Despite all his optimistic posts on Twitter, showing that he is ready to regain his former glory at French Open 2016, Rafael Nadal had to save his body.

“It’s obvious if it’s not Roland Garros, I will probably not take the risks of playing the first two days,” he said during the press conference according to New York Times. “But it’s the most important event of the year for me, so we tried our best. We take risks yesterday. That’s why we played with anesthetic injection, so without feeling at all in the wrist… To win the tournament, I need five more matches, and the doctor says that’s 100 percent impossible.”

But his misfortunes did not end there. Due to the pesky injury, the former world number one had to pull out of this year’s Wimbledon as well.

“Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the Queen’s Club grass-court tournament that serves as a tuneup for Wimbledon, citing the left wrist injury that cut his French Open short,” reports ESPN. “Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam champion, withdrew from Queen’s Club on Wednesday.”

Maybe it is time that he concentrates more on his tennis academy that he is starting in his hometown, which will take up most of his attention when retirement rolls along. When he was nursing his injury this winter, he spent a lot of time building the infrastructure of his school.

“World no. 5 tennis star Rafael Nadal spent his first day in Manila conducting a tennis clinic for young Filipino students on Sunday, December 6 at the Colegio San Agustin in Makati City,” Reports Rappler. “Nadal, 29, hosted the clinic for 60 young people together with his uncle and coach Toni to promote the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy, which opens in Mallorca, Spain in May.”

Do you think retirement is imminent for the Spaniard?

[Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images]

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