Andy Roddick is concerned that Rafael Nadal may not get the farewell he wants and has compared his situation to that of his great rival, Roger Federer.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons. His only event since the 2023 Australian Open was at this year's Brisbane International, where he sustained another injury issue.
Nadal's latest withdrawal was from this week's Monte-Carlo Masters, a tournament he has won on 11 occasions. This announcement was very disappointing for the event, made worse when Carlos Alcaraz withdrew a few days later.
However, he could make his return next week at the Barcelona Open. Nadal gave a health update in which he said he was practicing in Barcelona and was hoping to play at the tournament, although this is not certain.
Roddick has expressed his concern that Nadal's injuries could mean he does not get the farewell that he wants. Speaking on his podcast, Roddick said Nadal could end up like Federer, who the American suspects did not really want to retire at the Laver Cup.
"Roger retired at Laver Cup, he probably wouldn’t say this out loud, but Roger wanted to retire at Wimbledon or US Open. He wanted to play those. He wanted to do that, he wanted to say ‘goodbye’, it happened in three days as opposed to three months. It feels like we're getting closer to that being reality for Rafa."
The 2003 US Open champion then said Nadal does not need to be fit for the whole season, and if possible, he should consider just doing whatever is necessary to say farewell at the most important events, most notably the French Open.
"I have this hope in the back of my mind that he’s gonna get healthy and he doesn’t need to be healthy for 52 weeks, he needs to be healthy for two months. Like, just burn it, go all of it, take all of the painkillers that you need to take, and let’s do one more."
Roddick also said how much he wants a Roland-Garros farewell for Nadal, which he feels does not have to involve him challenging for the tournament to feel special.
"I always kind of thought we were going to have some version of that, maybe not winning but imagine him winning third round at Roland Garros, a tough four-setter, the place falls apart like… I want that for him."
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