PARIS (AP) — Let’s get this part out of the way: Rafael Nadal did not announce his retirement after exiting the French Open in the first round.
Nothing else, though, is entirely clear about what comes next for the owner of 22 Grand Slam titles. He turns 38 in a week and has been dealing with injuries for quite some time.
“I don’t know,” Nadal acknowledged, “what’s going to happen in the next few months.”
He probably won’t be back at the tournament where he’s collected a record 14 trophies, but write that in pencil, because he would not completely rule out the possibility in the days leading up to, or the moments immediately following, the 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 loss to Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros on Monday that gave the Spaniard the first losing streak of his career on clay courts.
He probably won’t enter Wimbledon, because it just doesn’t seem like a good idea to switch to grass right now, although he would not completely rule that out, either.
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