Rafael Nadal's tennis career is now over, and he won't extend it by becoming a coach, according to his compatriot Alex Corretja.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion retired from tennis only more than a week ago at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. He lost his match to Botic van de Zandschulp, and even though Carlos Alcaraz was then able to win his singles match to force the doubles decider, Spain lost that match, ending Nadal's career.
Although his career ended only a few days ago, the 38-year-old Spaniard is an incredibly popular figure, so it's not surprising that there is a huge interest in his future.
Obviously, many of his fans would love to see Nadal return to tennis in one way or another, as his vast experience would certainly help him pursue any role within the sport.
On top of that, there were even rumors that he could become Real Madrid's president, as he's a long-time supporter of the club, and his name was mentioned in relation to the role a few times.
One of the most exciting roles, however, would be Nadal's return to tennis as a coach. It's something Andy Murray did recently when he joined Novak Djokovic's team, and it is a natural development for many former players.
Mats Wilander recently even suggested that Nadal could become Carlos Alcaraz's coach, but his fellow former ATP player and current pundit, Alex Corretja, doesn't agree.
Corretja spoke to Eurosport about Nadal's future, and he explained that, according to him, it is nearly impossible that the 14-time French Open champion would become a coach.
"In my opinion, I see it as impossible. 99.99% impossible. Because in this life you can't say impossible. But I would be very, very surprised. I think he's going to need time to realise what he really wants to do."
"It's a bit different than Andy. I feel like Andy, even if he's got four kids and he's busy at home, maybe he's got less things to do on a daily basis."
Corretja thinks that Nadal loves to spend time at home with his family, which is why he can't see the recently retired legend travel around the world with some player.
Still, Corretja could see Nadal accepting some consultant role, for example, for his favorite club, Real Madrid, but nothing that would require him to spend time away from his family, only recently grown by another member, his son.
"But Rafa, he is living on his, you know, in Manacor, and he's got his academy. I don't really see him moving so much from there. I felt like Andy wanted to maybe feel the experience of still traveling, you know."
"Rafa, I don't really see him as a coach or as a consultant for anyone. I might see him more like a consultant for, let's say, Real Madrid. Something big, something that he could add to the team from time to time, can give them some speeches."
"I would see it for a short period of time. Three months or six months. But on a daily basis, I don't really see it."
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