Mats Wilander has predicted how long Rafael Nadal will continue to play tennis before he retires. Many questioned the Spaniard ahead of the 2022 season given he ended his 2021 campaign early due to injury. But after playing just two more matches after his 2021 French Open defeat before returning to the tour in January, Nadal captured a Melbourne warm-up event title before securing one of the most sensational grand slam victories to claim the Australian Open crown.
A 20-match win streak to start the season, which also included a title in Acapulco, surprised many given his lack of matches at the start of the year. A 14th French Open soon followed and although injury derailed his season following Wimbledon, the Spaniard finished the year world number two and enjoyed yet another impressive campaign.
As we head into 2023 more question marks continue to surround how much longer the tennis legend will play, and the seven-time Grand Slam winner Wilander shared his thoughts on how much longer the Spaniard will be on tour. "Rafa knows what he is looking for: he knows emotionally what he is looking for; he knows physically what he is looking for,” the Swede told Eurosport.
"He knows how much he has to train to have any chance of achieving that feeling, both physically and mentally. If his injuries are okay, I think he is going to get there. Then you have to win points at 30-30, 4-4 in the fifth set, you have 10 different choices, and only one of them is correct and how to make that decision right is key.”
Despite a plethora of injuries throughout his storied career and being 36 years of age, Wilander has been so impressed with Nadal’s form at the majors and stated that the Spaniard, who only lost one grand slam match in 2022, is not far-fetched. "I would think that after you won your last Grand Slam tournament, there are about three or four years left in you, for sure, especially if you keep your ranking in the top eight,” he added.
"If you have just won the Australian Open and the French Open in 2022, I would say you have three or four more years. I don't care about the fact that Rafa turns 40 in four years. I don't think it matters because you are going to have in your mind 'hey, kids, I've done this now since I was 17-18 years old'.
"It is five sets, that is a marathon, but if you sprint, you are going to kill yourself, you are going to get too tired, and if you walk, he will be faster than you.” Since entering the top 10 in 2005, Nadal has remained there, which is a truly phenomenal record and a testament to his longevity.
However, Wilander does believe it will be challenging for Nadal to keep his ranking up the longer he plays. "I think that keeping his ranking up is going to be very tough. Winning another Grand Slam is going to be easier, much easier, than being in the top three in the world in the rankings because you don't need that,” he said.
"You can just try to pinpoint your events to pick at the right time. It is the week before the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open and you can find form and feel it. There is a lot of luck involved, for sure. I think Rafa is going to need a bit of luck, but he would say he always got a bit of luck. When you win that much, you need a bit of luck, and so I think he is going to be back."
Nadal is currently on a South American tour playing exhibition matches with Casper Ruud and began with a 7-6, 6-2 win in Argentina last night. He then partnered former player and 1990 US Open champion Gabriela Sabatini to take on Ruud and Gisela Dulo in a one set shootout, which the pair won 6-4. At the end of the next month, Nadal will team up with world No.13 Paula Badosa to fly the flag for Spain in the inaugural United Cup in Australia.
