Rafael Nadal is eager to play at the French Open where he, this year, has the unfamiliar role of not being the overwhelming favourite. But niggling injuries threaten to sour what would likely be the Spaniard’s last appearance at the grand slam he dominated for nearly two decades.

The 37-year-old, who won 14 of his 22 major titles in Paris to establish himself as one of the greatest ever players on clay, skipped the 2023 edition with a hip injury that required surgery and is still in two minds whether to play this year.

“Physically I have some issues, but not probably yet enough to say I’m not playing in the most important event of my tennis career,” said Nadal, who won his first French Open in 2005 and last lifted the Musketeers’ Cup two years ago.

“If I feel ready, I’m going to try to fight for the things I have been fighting for the last 15 years, (even) if now seems impossible.” Nadal’s indomitable spirit despite a plethora of injuries in his glittering career has never been in question, but the former world No.1, who has plummeted down the rankings to an unbelievable 276, risks being dumped out prematurely at his happiest hunting ground.

His earliest exit from the French Open came in 2016 when a wrist problem forced him to withdraw ahead of his third-round clash with countryman Marcel Granollers and he has only lost three times in 115 matches.

Nadal understands the importance of going out on his own terms as he did in front of teary-eyed fans in Barcelona, Madrid and Rome.

“Probably when the people start to see that there will not be many chances to watch me play again, probably they feel a bit more emotional, more sad because it’s in some way the end of an important era in the history of tennis,” Nadal said.

Reuters