Rafael Nadal's comeback in Australia was a pretty decent one, but even so, retirement is still closer than it ever was.
With each passing day, Nadal gets older, and with that, he comes closer to retirement. It's the same for any tennis player, whether they are 18 or 36, but in the case of Nadal, it's certainly something that is coming up in the next few years.
We don't know when it will happen, just like he doesn't know. The return in Australia showed us that a fully healthy Nadal has plenty to give to tennis but his injury also showed that his body might not be able to handle all of that for much longer.
If his injury would have been similar to the one he had last year, he might have already retired. Any match he plays could be his final one, and it's just something we can't know.
When it comes to his coach, Carlos Moya, he doesn't think about it. According to a recent interview with Punto de Break, Moya believes that Nadal has the right to decide how and when he wants to retire.
"He has earned the right to decide how, where and when he wants to retire. Despite his situation, which has changed by having a child, he wants to continue competing in this way."
Judging by the way Nadal handled much of his career, we'll know when it's time. It's not something that we'll find out after it happens, but more so like the retirement Roger Federer had.
He'll likely announce it, and then we'll see how it happens. As Moya said, it's his choice, and we'll just have to respect it. The hope is that it's not coming soon, and according to everything we've seen, that's likely.
There is a strong desire to compete within Nadal, but as always, life has its own plans.
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