Nadal is already in Paris to prepare for his likely final French Open.

© AFP

Guillaume Nonque

le 21/05/2024 à 11h28

2 min to read

Nadal Roland Garros

Rafael Nadal arrived in Paris on Monday to begin the final stage of his preparations for what will most likely be his last French Open (he is not ruling out continuing his career in 2025 if his 2024 season comes to a close). The 37-year-old Spaniard held his first practice session under the enclosed roof of Court Philippe Chatrier late this afternoon. The session, which was open to the public, was another test of his popularity with Parisian tennis fans.

After a busy week of training at his Rafa Nadal Academy in Majorca, the man with 14 titles on the Porte d'Auteuil clay still has a few days to raise his game. His last tournament appearance was far from reassuring. He lost heavily to Hubert Hurkacz (6-1, 6-3) in the 2nd round in Rome 10 days ago.

Nevertheless, his clan remains confident about the future, as Marc Lopez, a member of his coaching team, explains: "From the outside, we're trying to tell him that he's better than he thinks. On clay, he always spends more time on everything, and our job is to make him understand that he's better than he thinks. He's competitive, he's improving every day and he's taking small steps forward to compete at Roland Garros in the best possible conditions, which is the main objective".

The real answers will not be long in coming. Nadal will know his first-round opponent on Thursday May 23, the date set for the main draw ceremony. In this draw, the Majorcan will not be seeded, which could mean a clash with one of the favourites to start his tournament. The first-round matches will then be played on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.