🎤 Nadal’s Interview

Rafael Nadal sat down with MovieStar Plus+ in Spain for an interview everyone seems to be talking about. The recovering former world no.1 and 22 Grand Slam champion covered everything from his rehab, to his future, to Alcaraz, to the GOAT debate. Because in the last 48 hours there are so many stories coming out we though we’d give our quick 1 min recap of what’s been going down.

Here we go…

How’s his rehab going?
Nadal said that rehab is a slow process which is taking time. Originally he was to be out for 5 months following Indian Wells last year but that marker has kept moving. He is able to spend about 40mins on court at the moment with some golf added in there. “I can only hit with maximum caution, without moving, without the intensity to which I am accustomed.”

What are his expectations for return?
He insisted he wants to play competitively again, but in what capacity, he is unsure. Any comeback at next year’s Australian Open or French Open may happen with limited expectations. “My dream is to play again, to be competitive again, not to win at Roland-Garros or in Australia,” he confessed. “At this time in my life, I am very far away (from challenging for major titles). I am not saying it is impossible because things in sport change very quickly.”

What does that mean?
It’s hard to tell really. Nadal himself is unsure for his future. Right now he said “My way of facing the year changes depending on the objectives. I don’t even have the need to respond to myself. My hope is in two months to know how and where I am”.

Paris Olympics are next year, will he play?
Nadal mentioned hoping to play the Paris Olympics which he said would be a nice touch - especially if he gets to play doubles with a one Carlos Alcaraz, "it would be a good motivation, another incentive for me to be able to close my Olympic cycle playing with Carlos."

What does he think of Alcaraz?
Nadal was all praise for his countrymen, concluding it was fantastic for the sport to have someone like him as well as being the only real rival for Djokovic, "I think that Carlos is little surprised by what he can do. He has been number one in the world until recently. And although he is very young, right now, practically, the only rival I see for him is Djokovic.”

Is Nadal frustrated by Djokovic winning the GS titles race?
Nadal seemed unconcerned with Djokovic surpassing him. He said he has done everything possible to be where he has got to. "Yes, you can live frustrated with 22 Grand Slams, for example Novak lives it in a more intense way," he said. "For him, it would have been a greater frustration not to achieve it…and perhaps that is why he achieved it."

So he doesn’t lose sleep over it?
Nadal is adamant, Djokovic’s achievements of late, capturing 24 GS titles does not affect the way he see’s his career. Nadal said. “What is, is, and what is not, is not. I say this: I am very satisfied with everything that I have done.”

What did he say about the GOAT debate?
In clarifying statements post interview, Nadal conceded that in terms of numbers Djokovic is on top, “I believe that numbers are numbers and statistics are statistics. In that sense, I think he has better numbers than mine and that is indisputable.”

So he truly believes that?
Not entirely. Statistically he Nadal said yes, but was more ambiguous on who fans prefer. He believes the issue of the GOAT is a fans issue - an almost unwinnable debate, “There are tastes, inspiration, sensations that one or the other may transmit to you, that you may like one or the other more.”

Did Nadal says he has no friends?
Nadal admitted that he doesn’t have many friend’s left on tour. At 37 years old he is from a generation gone by. However the Spaniard says he still has talks to longtime rival Roger Federer, who retired from tennis last year, "I'm from a different time on the tour, and I don't have many friends anymore. But I talk to Federer from time to time."

And life after tennis? Real Madrid President?
While he hasn't dreamt of it, Nadal didn't rule out becoming the president of Real Madrid in the future. He also expressed support for Mbappé's potential arrival at the club.

For sure the debate sparked some comments for all tennis fans. We’d love to see Rafa back on court next year. Fingers crossed 🤞 

🌯 Top Tournament Wrap-Up

A look at the top WTA and ATP tournaments around the world…

🇲🇽 WTA1000 Guadalajara Open - 3rd Round

• Martina Trevisan b. Ons Jabeur 6/7 7/5 6/3

• Victoria Azarenka b. Veronika Kudermetova 6/2 6/1

• Leylah Annie Fernandez b. Emma Navarro 6/2 6/3

• Maria Sakkari b. Camila Giorgi 6/2 6/2

• Emiliana Arango b. Taylor Townsend 7/5 1/6 6/4

• Sofia Kenin b. Jelena Ostapenko 6/4 7/5

• Caroline Dolehide b. Ekaterina Alexandrova 6/1 6/2

• Caroline Garcia b. Hailey Baptiste 7/5 6/4

🇨🇳 ATP250 Zhuhai Championship - Round 32

• Yoshihito Nishioka b. Terence Atmane 0/6 6/4 6/2

• Kimmer Coppejans b. Aleksandar Kovacevic 7/6 6/1

• Lloyd Harris b. Jiri Vesely 6/4 6/2

• Aslan Karatsev b. Matteo Arnaldi 6/7 7/6 6/2

• Marc Polmans b. Dane Sweeny 6/3 6/1

• Dalibor Svrcina b. Zhe Li 6/4 6/3

 🇨🇳 ATP250 Chengdu Open - Round 32

• Jordan Thompson b. Max Purcell 6/2 7/6 

• Taro Daniel b. Aleksandar Vukic 4/6 6/4 6/2 

• Dusan Lajovic b. Zizou Bergs 6/4 1/6 6/3 

• Corentin Moutet b. Tao Mu 6/2 6/2 

• Christopher O'Connell b. Alibek Kachmazov 7/6 6/4

• Arthur Rinderknech b. Li Tu 7/6 7/6 

• Roman Safiullin b. Brandon Nakashima 6/4 6/4 

• Juan Pablo Varillas b. Jie Cui 6/1 6/3

 ⏰ Shot Clock

🤔 Federer considers being European captain. Roger Federer has expressed interest in being the next Laver Cup European team captain. Currently the team is captained by Bjorn Borg.

🧘‍♀️ Sharapova poses like Jane Fonda. Promoting her Bala Bangles brand Maria Sharapova recently posted on Instagram giving her best Jane Fonda impression.

🏖️ Muguruza return plans …Are no return plans. The former world no.1 who took a break from tennis says she has not made any plans for the upcoming 2024 season and her return.

👕 Roger Federer outfit to fetch $35,000. Roger Federer’s 20th major winning outfit from the 2018 Australian Open is going up for auction. The online auction that starts Wednesday.

💸 PTPA wants more shares of tennis betting. Novak Djokovic was interviewed on the realities of tennis betting - which is one of the most bet sports in the world - and how tennis players should share in the revenue.

✊ Coach Karue Goes Pro

YouTube coach and My Tennis HQ founder Karue Sell is turning professional…again. Already a former ATP 400 ranked player, Karue hasn’t been on tour for some years. Instead you’ve seen him as hitting partner for Namoi Osaka and part of Marcos Giron’s wider coaching team, as well as running his own YouTube channel. But now he has announced he wants to try build his ATP ranking again.

Check out the video below with his announcement.