Rafael Nadal has sparked concerns he may have played his last match in professional tennis after the former world No 1 and Carlos Alcaraz lost in the doubles of the Olympics on Wednesday.
The pair were beaten by American duo Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in straight sets, missing out on the chance to make the semi-finals of the competition in the process.
Nadal, before the tournament, said he would provide fans with an update on his future once his involvement in the Olympics was over.
There is a widespread expectation that he will retire from tennis before the end of 2024 after a glittering career that has seen him win a staggering 22 Grand Slam titles.
Rafael Nadal has sparked concerns he may have played his last match in professional tennis after the former world No 1 and Carlos Alcaraz lost in the doubles of the Olympics on Wednesday
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And Nadal appeared to hint that he could be about to quit after seeing his hopes of winning Olympic gold for a second time go up in smoke.
“Looks like not but I’m gonna let you know soon,” he said when asked if he’d be playing at the US Open later in the year.
“For me, now, I can’t give you a clear answer, I need some time. But for me, looks difficult.”
Nadal put himself on thhe US Open entry list to give himself some time to make a decision on whether he’ll grace the courts of Flushing Meadows.
Losing at Roland Garros is something he’s unlikely to ever get used to given how he’s dominated the French Open over the years.
And Nadal, when asked if he may have played at the Court Philippe-Chatrier for the last time, added: “Maybe.
“I think if that’s the last time, for me, it’s an unforgettable feeling and emotions.
“They give me the love and the support every single second that I have been on court.
“For me it’s super, super special to feel that in particular in this place so I can’t really thank enough all of them for giving me the feeling that I have inside myself and the emotions that they make me feel.
“So I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future but if that’s the last time I enjoyed it.”
Nadal was disappointed to be dumped out of the Olympics alongside Alcaraz, who is widely viewed as his heir.
But the Spaniard was still pleased with how the games went, especially given his powers are clearly on the wane.
“I came here with the goal to give as much chance as possible to win a medal and I needed to play doubles and honestly at this stage of my career I play for feelings, I play for emotions more than results,” he explained.
“And for me the emotion and the feeling to be on court with Carlos and the expectation that we created in Spain too and you see that playing doubles, full stadium every single time, amazing atmosphere, is something that I bring back home.
“I won enough in my career, I won much more than what I ever dreamed so for me it’s about enjoying different experience and for me, that’s another lifetime experience too, to share with Carlos – an amazing player that I think is going to be of course one of the best in history too.
“To share this moment for [the] Spanish team. So I enjoyed that, and that’s it.”
Rafael Nadal sounds like he’s played his last professional tennis match after being dumped out of the Olympics on Wednesday
He continued: “I enjoyed every single moment, no? With more, less success.
“Honestly the feeling and the emotions that we live in an Olympic Games are difficult to compere with other events because here you feel part of something bigger than only a personal team. And that’s an amazing feeling.
“I feel so lucky that I have been able to win a gold in singles because, at the end, it’s the most difficult event to win because you have just a few chances in your career.”
