Nadal is a legend of men's tennis. For about 20 years from the mid-2000s to the early 2020s, he and Novak Djokovic (No. 1 Serbia) and Roger Federer (retired Switzerland) were the top three players in men's tennis.
It has won as many as 22 major championships. Djokovic ranks first with 24 wins and Nadal is second. Federer follows with 20 wins.
Prior to the 2022 Australian Open, Nadal, Djokovic and Federer were tied for first place with 20 wins each, but Nadal won his 21st major tournament in his career at the Australian Open, taking the lead in the most wins in men's singles.
By winning the French Open in the same year, Nadal maintained his lead. However, he failed to win the title since then, giving Djokovic the most titles in men's singles in major competitions. Djokovic won three of the four major competitions in 2023 except Wimbledon, rising to No. 1 in the number of titles.
Nadal earned the nickname "Dirt God" for his strong appearance, especially on clay courts (coats made of clay).
At the French Open, Nadal is the only one among the four major tournaments to be held on clay, and has grabbed 14 wins. He played in 18 French Open matches, but failed to win the title, only four times.
Fourteen wins is the record of most wins in a single major competition. No player has won more in one competition than Nadal at the French Open in all four major competitions.
In addition to the French Open, Nadal won the U.S. Open four times and the Australian Open and Wimbledon two times each, achieving a "career grand slam."
Regardless of the year, winning all four major tournaments is called a career grand slam, and only eight in the history of tennis have achieved this in men's singles.
Nadal, once called a "living legend," could not resist the passage of time. Born in 1986, Nadal has suffered from various injuries since last year when he was 37.
Nadal, who was eliminated in the second round at the Australian Open, his first major tournament of the season, in January last year, suffered a hip muscle injury at the time.
Nadal, who has been unable to participate in the French Open due to his injury since then, held a press conference in May last year and declared that he would not participate in the French Open, which is his home ground. It was the first time in 19 years that Nadal did not participate in the French Open.
At the press conference at the time, Nadal also announced that he would retire after the 2024 season. "I never know what will happen in the future, but next year will be my last year," he said.
Since then, Nadal has tried to return to the court, but ended the 2023 season without achieving his goal. As the injury has been prolonged, the world ranking has plummeted.
After recovering from his injury, Nadal returned to court only in January this year. He participated in the ATP Tour Brisbane International in January this year with the intention of participating in the Australian Open, his first major tournament of this season.
Nadal reached the quarterfinals at the Brisbane International, but lost 1-2 (7-56-7<6-8> 3-6) to Jordan Thompson (Australia), who was ranked 55th at the time.
During the match, Nadal suffered another hip injury and gave up participating in the Australian Open. Since then, he has had a three-month hiatus.
Nadal made his comeback in three months at the Barcelona Open, which opened in Barcelona, Spain on June 15. Nadal was showing off his strength in the clay court competition.
Nadal, who beat Flavio Kovoli (62nd, Italy) 2-0 (6-26-3) in the first round of the Barcelona Open, lost 0-2 (5-71-6) to Alex Diminore (11th, Australia) in the round of 32.
When Nadal announced his retirement last year, some predicted that he would officially retire after his last tournament at this year's French Open or 2024 Paris Olympics. The tennis event at the Paris Olympics will be held in Roland Garros, where the French Open will be held, raising the possibility that Nadal could use it as his last stage.
Perhaps Nadal's dream picture is to retire after climbing as high as possible at the French Open or Paris Olympics. If he retires after winning the championship, there will be no better picture than that.
However, it seems that Nadal is not going as planned due to repeated injuries. Attention is focusing on whether Nadal will be able to retire as he dreams.
"I hope I can fully recover within a few weeks," Nadal said after losing in the round of 32 at the Barcelona Open. "I want to play with everything I have at the French Open in May."
Nadal, who is scheduled to participate in the ATP Tour Madrid Open that opens on Monday, is expected to play one more clay court event before heading to the French Open. The French Open will kick off on May 26.
