Spanish media have begun speculating on the remaining tennis shelf life of national sporting hero Rafael Nadal, with one outlet suggesting that the clay court king is not injured but suffering a mental block.
Nadal had been expected to play for the first time since early January at the Monte Carlo Masters – but instead he announced his withdrawal for the key starting event for the European clay season.
The 37-year-old who celebrates a birthday in June announced he would not front up in the principality, hinting that an existing hip problem was to blame and expressing his deep regret.
But Radio Nacional reported a more sinister take on the mysterious situation.
“The question now is, what’s going on with him? ‘My body simply won’t let me,'” a presenter said,
“As we translate that, we can say that it is a euphemism to describe, without saying much, now that Spanish national radio knows this information, that Rafa is not injured.”
The report continued: “From here, based on intuition because it is not confirmed, but if he is not injured, it is that Rafa is not mentally prepared to return to top competition.
“Let’s call it stress, let’s call it mental fatigue or worrying about the risk of falling or getting injured again, the fact is that it would be more of a mental problem than a physical one.”
Nadal has hinted that this season could well be his last – if he can grind his game back into gear and push his battered body through another ATP campaign.
If he is able to front up for Roland Garros starting in late may, he would be chasing a record-extending 15th title at the Paris Grand Slam.
Nadal’s schedule remains uncertain, with no firm commitment so far to any tournament in what is the prime time of his annual season.
He spelled out his deep concern in his Monte Carlo pullout.
“My body simply won’t allow me. The only thing I can do is to accept the situation and try to look at the immediate future keeping the excitement and will to play in order to give me a chance for things to get better.”
