Rafael Nadal's participation in the US Open 'impossible' says former ATP No. 2

Rafael Nadal is, of course, an all-time great player. There is also little argument that his best surface is clay. No one has dominated an event the way the Spaniard dominated the French Open for more than a decade. He also knows the limitations of his body at age 38.

One reason Nadal skipped Wimbledon is that he did not want to go from playing several clay-court tournaments and then to the grass of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and then back to the clay of the Olympics. That might have been too hard on his banged-up body.

After suffering a devastating hip injury at the Australian Open in early 2023, Nadal returned in early 2024 only to aggravate the hip again. He has battled through a couple of other injuries this year, too. In what may be his final year on the ATP tour, the Spaniard has played in just seven tournaments, not won any, and made it past the quarterfinals in just one event.

Alex Corretja thinks Rafael Nadal playing at the US Open would be impossible

That does not mean he is not a dangerous player, of course, but after intentionally only playing clay, one might be surprised if Nadal plays the hard-court US Open after not playing any other hard-court tournaments since January.

According to former ATP No. 2 Alex Corretja, Nadal playing at the US Open seems "impossible." In an interview with El Larguero, Corretja said, "For the US Open on a fast court? You can’t get there without having played on a hard court in New York. Is he going to go to Cincinnati in 10 days with the change of surface again? I see it as almost impossible. He has to find a place where he says, this is as far as I want to go and it is worth making that effort, like up to the Laver Cup."

The Laver Cup part is interesting, of course. Nadal has not made any commitments to play after 2024, though he has also not officially announced his retirement. This has been a year of important players, such as Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber, who decided not to play anymore. Perhaps Nadal will return in early 2025 so that he potentially has a year of his own.

Or he could choose the 2024 Laver Cup as his last event just as Roger Federer did. Perhaps Nadal even asks Federer to come out of retirement so that the two can play doubles in the tournament.

Update: Nadal announced on his social media accounts this week that he will not play at the US Open.

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