“As you can imagine we had something planned for him,” Mauresmo said on Sunday. “‘But he told us that because he doesn’t know if this is not going to be his last Roland Garros or not he wants to leave the door open for him to come back next year.”
Although organisers were ready to celebrate Nadal’s incredible record at the tournament, the presentation has been scrapped per the Spaniard’s own request. Mauresmo, a two-time Grand Slam champion, continued: “So we’re not going to push him obviously to do anything, it’s his decision when he wants to have a proper ceremony, a proper farewell so we’re not going to do it this year.
“That’s his wish, even though we were ready to push the button we’re obviously going to respect what he wants and make sure we’re ready whenever he wants to do it, any time he wants.”
That could now be 2025, as Nadal previously explained that he would be happy to return for a presentation if he isn’t able to compete at Roland Garros next year. Ahead of the tournament, the 37-year-old said “don’t assume that” when asked if this was his final French Open.
“In terms if that’s going to be my last Roland Garros, it’s a long answer, but I think I need to answer that, because we’re gonna avoid future questions since the beginning, so I gonna do it,” Nadal explained.
“As I said, it’s a big, big chance that it’s going to be my last Roland Garros, but if I have to tell you it’s 100 per cent my last Roland Garros, sorry, but I will not, because I cannot predict what’s going on. I hope you understand.”
