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Nadal’s Plan: To Compete As Long As Possible
4 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Bios
ATP No. 1 is not the top priority at this time. Though he has a sizable gap lead on world no. 2 Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal said today at a Paris Indoors press conference that his plan is to extend his career for many more years.
“I need to organize my calendar to play as long as possible,” said Nadal. “To give me more chances to play more years on the Tour.”
Nadal skipped the Asian circuit following his US Open triumph and got married to longtime sweetheart Maria Francesca earlier this month. The brief hiatus jeopardized his chances to lock up the no. 1 ranking and presumably millions of dollars in bonuses from his main sponsors Nike and Babolat.
In 1998 Marcelo Rios earned $2.5 million each from Nike and Yonex for achieving the no. 1 ranking after winning Miami Open. It is not known what the bonus figures are for Nadal from Nike and Babolat for securing the ATP no. 1 ranking but it is assumed to be a far greater sum than the Rios numbers of 1998.
Nadal and Djokovic are both in the Paris Indoors draw this week.
jackson · October 27, 2019 at 9:23 pm
Rafa’s not playing for money anymore. He has more than he’ll ever need. He’s happy that when he’s healthy, he’s still competitive and he’s said that he’ll play as long as he is.
He has such a great life in Mallorca that he’ll have no problem calling it a day when the time comes. He’s not going to be one of these guys whose self worth comes from winning tennis titles. I just hope the tennis gods give him a break and allow him to stay healthy for awhile.
Scoop Malinowski · October 27, 2019 at 10:29 pm
Rafa plays because it’s what he does best and he still loves competing as much as he did when he was 17, maybe more now. The ATP tour life is so luxurious and perfect now, no player wants to leave it. Paes is 46, still wants to play but may be having trouble finding partners.
Dan Markowitz · October 29, 2019 at 1:48 am
Pretty amazing quote by Federer after winning Basel that he thinks the end of his career could be near, it could happen at anytime, like with an injury or when of his parents becoming ill. He said he feels sad sometimes that his career has gone by so fast. And he has to have perspective and he thinks in the moment that he’ll have to retire he’ll be ok.”
If an athlete of Federer’s magnitude says this with such honesty and even remorse for his playing days, I think it’s pretty unusual and candid. I think a lot of athletes would say it’s been a long career and I’m ready to go, but maybe the great ones in particular, they always want more, as Scoop says here about Nadal. An Andy Roddick or Sampras retired at 31 or younger, but Federer and Nadal want to see how long they can extend their careers. That is very special.
Scoop Malinowski · October 29, 2019 at 3:03 am
Federer statement to withdraw from Paris said he is planning on extending his career as long as possible, an echo of Nadal’ s quotes at his Paris press conference.