Rafael Nadal's farewell: High-profile figure will miss tennis great's Davis Cup finale
11/06/2024 05:27 AM
The who’s who of tennis is set to make their way to Spain in the coming weeks to attend Rafael Nadal’s farewell at the Davis Cup, but one key figure who has played a major role in his career will be absent.
Tennis great Nadal has confirmed he will retire after the 2024 tennis season and the Davis Cup Finals at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena will be the final tournament of his career.
Spain will face the Netherlands in the quarter-final on November 19 and there are question marks over his participation in both the singles and doubles.
Nadal himself has admitted that he won’t play unless he is 100% as he doesn’t want to jeopardise his country’s chances of reaching the semi-final, saying: “If I don't feel ready, I will be the first to step away and see how I can help.”
Meanwhile, Spain Davis Cup captain David Ferrer has vowed to give him until the last possible minute to get fit for the tournament.
Even if he doesn’t play, there will be a big send-off for one of tennis’ all-time greats as a special ceremony is planned.
The likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are all expected to attend, but one person who won’t be present is Toni Nadal.
Rafael Nadal News
Rafael Nadal's farewell party set to feature two of his biggest rivals
'There has not been an athlete in Spain comparable to Rafael Nadal', says former world No 12
Toni started coaching his nephew Rafa from a young age and they won 16 Grand Slams together with Rafa also going on to become world No 1 under his guidance.
But the 63-year-old Toni will not be part of the farewell ceremony as he has other commitments.
“I knew that at some point or another, that day of final retirement would come,” he said on Radio Marca.
“Knowing that we will never see him in a competition again, the emotion will be there, but I have been getting used to the idea for some time now. I will miss it because I have work on those days and I have to be in Rome.”
As for whether or not we will get to see Rafael Nadal play competitive matches for one last time, it remains to be seen, but Toni was impressed with what he saw in practice.
He added: “I’ve seen him train these days and I’ve seen him train at a very high level.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen him train so well, but we have to wait and see because training is not the same as competing.”
The post Rafael Nadal’s farewell: High-profile figure will miss tennis great’s Davis Cup finale appeared first on Tennis365.
