 "Rafael Nadal waves to the crowd after arriving for a practice session at Roland Garros. Image: X/Roland Garros")
Rafael Nadal returned to Roland Garros on Monday to practice and figure out whether he’s fit enough to compete at the second major of the year. And more importantly, at a tournament he has won a record 14 times.
Six days before the main tournament start, the Spaniard trained on Court Philippe Chatrier in front of nearly 6,000 fans. He arrived late in the afternoon alongside coach Carlos Moya and a couple of sparring partners.
Five minutes before the scheduled start of his practice session, chants of “Rafa, Rafa, Rafa” ran round the three-quarters-full court.
After the practice session, which lasted about an hour and a half, Nadal signed autographs for fans before disappearing through a doorway and into a tunnel that leads toward the locker rooms.
The training session gave Nadal a chance to reacquaint himself with the red clay at Roland Garros — where he hasn’t played a match in two years.
His last appearance here was in 2022, when he played through the fortnight with his left foot anaesthetized to numb the pain caused by Mueller-Weiss syndrome, a chronic condition that has afflicted him since he was 18.
The 22-time major winner, whose career twilight has been darkened by injuries since January last year, will play the tournament for the last time, but only, he says if he feels ready.
Nadal is still regaining his match readiness after missing nearly all of 2023 with a hip injury that required surgery, and much of this season because of problems with a hip muscle and an abdominal muscle.
His recent loss, in his second match against Hubert Hurkacz in Rome, left Nadal unsure about whether he would consider himself ready for the French Open.
“Let’s see what’s going on, how I feel myself mentally tomorrow, after tomorrow, and in one week,” Nadal said in Rome. “If I feel ready, I (am) going to try to be there and fight for the things that I have been fighting (for for) the last 15 years, (even) if now (that) seems impossible.”
The 37-year-old won the 2022 French Open for his 22nd major championship overall, which ranks second among men to Novak Djokovic’s 24.