Rafael Nadal has confirmed he is likely to retire from professional tennis next year, bringing an end to his glittering career.
Nadal, 36, revealed his plans after confirming he will miss the upcoming French Open - which starts on Monday - with to a hip injury. No one has achieved more success at Roland Garros than Nadal, who has won 14 men's single titles at the Grand Slam event.
Nadal, who is the reigning French Open champion, told reporters on Thursday: "I won’t be able to play at Roland Garros. It's not a decision I made, it's a decision my body made."
The Spaniard has also confirmed he will not play again for a "few months", which means he is likely to miss Wimbledon in July. Nadal has battled injuries throughout his career but is determined not to give up just yet and wants to play in the Davis Cup later this year.
Nadal believes he can continue until 2024, which is likely to be his final year on tour. He added: "I won’t be playing for the next few months. On a personal level, day-to-day work, things are difficult. It's difficult to be deprived of what's a big part of your life."
Nadal continued: "I hope to be ready by the Davis Cup, and I want to play in 2024, which should be the last year of my career. I want to be able to enjoy it and to say goodbye to tournaments that I want."
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Nadal won his first French Open title in 2005, aged just 19. He has since won the competition a record 14 times, while also achieving success in the other Grand Slams.
Nadal won Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010, the Australian Open in 2009 and 2022, and the US Open in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019. He has won a total of 22 Grand Slam titles, with only Novak Djokovic achieving as many major triumphs in the men's game.
Nadal is hoping his injury lay-off will allow him to compete and go out on top, perhaps with a 23rd Grand Slam triumph. He added: "That would be my objective, to try to stop to face the last year of my sports career with the guarantees of being able to enjoy it.
"And I am aware that if I continue playing at this moment, I do not think that this can happen next year... My idea is that next year is my last day in professional tennis. I want to be competitive. The chances are higher if I stop now."
Yet Nadal has admitted his retirement plans are not set in stone. He continued: "What happens next year, I don't know. You can have your intentions, and if I can be competitive again to win Grand Slams, I don't know. It's going to be hard.
"I am not an irrational person, I am quite rational. But I'm not a negative person either. What I am going to try is to give myself the opportunity to compete again.
"My intention is that it is the last year, you never know what can happen. I am going to try that my last year is not just complacent. I will fight for it. I don't know what the reality will be, we will have to wait for that."
