Rafael Nadal hit back at retirement questions immediately after losing to Novak Djokovic at the Olympics. The long-time rivals faced off for the 60th time in the second round of the Paris 2024 games.
But the Spaniard was no match for the top seed, going out 6-1 6-4 in what many fear could be the last singles match of his career.
After coming off the court, Nadal voiced his exasperation after being quizzed over the end of his career again and explained what would eventually make him hang it up.
Asked if he had any thoughts in his mind about whether he had just walked off Court Philippe-Chatrier for the final time, Nadal quipped: “Every day, huh? Every day you want me to retire every day guys. You ask me for that every single day.”
While the 22-time Grand Slam champion couldn’t give a real answer about his career expiry date, he shed light on when he might consider quitting. He continued: “I am trying to do my best every single day. I answer but I cannot live every single day with the feeling that it’s going to be or not going to be my last match.
“I come here, I try my best, I play and when I decide to stop playing or when I decide to keep going, I will let you know. I don’t know, I just try my best every single day, trying to enjoy a thing that I have been enjoying for so much time.”
Nadal has spent the better part of two years sidelined through injuries. And he admitted that he would walk away when he felt he was no longer able to meet the level he wanted.
“I have been suffering a lot of injuries the last two years so if I feel that I am not competitive enough to keep going or physically I’m not ready enough to keep going, I will stop and I will let you know,” he added. “But I mean, I don’t think every day about if I am retiring or not.”
But when the time to retire does come, Nadal is at peace with the idea. He said: “That’s part of life. Everything have a beginning, everything have an end. I will miss playing tennis at the competitive stages as probably all the professionals that have been playing tennis for almost all their lives and they really like what they do.
