Moments after winning a historic 14th French Open title, Rafael Nadal questioned if he’d ever step foot again on the clay court he’s effectively claimed as his own.
The King of Clay dominated Norway’s Casper Ruud in straight sets Sunday to earn his 22nd career Grand Slam while improving his record at Roland Garros to 112–3. After the match, Nadal, 36, admitted he is unsure if he will return to the event in 2023.
“I don’t know, I can’t confirm or say,” Nadal said regarding a French Open return. “Of course, I would love to keep coming but at the same time we need to find a solution for that because I can’t keep going the way that I am doing.”
Interestingly, the Spaniard’s latest triumph etched a spot in the history books on the same day Nadal won his first French Open in 2005. The tennis icon reflected on having the opportunity to hoist yet another singles title in Paris 17 years later.
“It’s amazing, much more, probably, emotional than the first time because it was completely unexpected to be where I am at this age, at this stage of my career,” he said. “It means everything. I have been going through tough times this past couple of months and to have the trophy with me here is something, just unbelievable.”
The past 12 months have been particularly trying for Nadal as he has dealt with a degenerative bone condition in his left foot known as Mueller-Weiss syndrome. The ailment flared up during Nadal’s appearance at Roland-Garros last year, a run that ended in the semi-finals against Novak Djokovic; he eventually announced the end of his season 10 days before the US Open.
In the months since his inspiring return in late December, Nadal added to his trophy by claiming his second Australian Open title, breaking a tie with Djokovic and Roger Federer for the most men’s singles major titles of all-time. In addition to adding to the record on Sunday, Nadal is also the oldest winner in French Open history.
Although it’s unclear what’s next after adding to his legendary list of accomplishments, Nadal did provide a bit of hope for his fans during his victory speech.
“For me, personally, very difficult to describe the feelings that I have,” he began. “It’s something that I for sure never believed, be here at 36, being competitive again, playing in the most important court of my career one more time in a final means a lot.
“I don’t know what can happen in the future, but I’m going to keep fighting to try to keep going.”
