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did you know?Nadal, who will retire at the end of the 2024 season, has won both the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship and the Abu Dhabi Mubadala Tennis Championship
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Spain’s Rafael Nadal was injured at the Australian Open in January. — Associated Press
Ever since he injured his hip at the Australian Open in January, Rafael Nadal fans have been holding their breath wondering what life would be like if the 22-time Grand Slam winner decided to end his career look.
But the legendary Spaniard, who alongside Roger Federer has dominated the headlines for nearly two decades and captivated audiences around the world with his signature bravado, is reassured.
Nadal, 36, revealed at a news conference in Mallorca, Spain on Thursday that 2024 will be his last year on the professional tour.
While that’s bad news for die-hard Nadal fans, it also means his followers in the UAE and the Middle East are likely to see him in action for the last time before he heads off into the sunset.
The Spaniard will compete at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for the first time in 15 years in the Feb. 27-March 4 tournament, after an abdominal injury he suffered at the Australian Open kept him out for eight weeks.
“I’m not someone who likes to predict a lot (about) the future, so I just follow my personal feelings and just follow what I really think is right for my body and my personal well-being,” he said Thursday.
“So that’s it. I don’t want to let myself say one thing and do another, but my goal, or my ambition, is to try to stop and give myself a chance to enjoy next year, which is probably going to be my pro tour. final year of the competition.”
From his early days as a teenager and fledgling player, he competed in the talented ATP World Tennis Tour and never failed to excite fans with his gladiator style of play, using different strokes and techniques to beat even the most talented players. Talented opponent.
Most importantly, he has the drive to endear millions of Nadal fans, many of whom see him as a 19-year-old prodigy who beat top seed Roger Federer 2-6 6-4 6-4 in the 2006 Aero Club tennis court.
It is conceivable that some of those fans, including Colm McLoughlin, executive vice-chairman and chief executive of Dubai Duty Free, who was instrumental in bringing the teenage Nadal to Dubai, will enjoy his farewell year Watch his prospect 2024 playing at the UAE.
“My thoughts and my motivation is to try to enjoy and try to say goodbye to all the games that have been important to me in my tennis career this year [2024]’” Nadal added at a news conference.
“And then try to enjoy it and be competitive and have fun on the court, which is not possible today.”
If he recovers fully over time, Nadal seems likely to return to the tournaments he missed in Doha, Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and Italy.
Of course, Nadal is also a five-time winner of the Mubadala Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi, a high-profile exhibition tournament that attracts the best players in the world at the start of the season every year.
Fans in the UAE will wait with bated breath to see if the iconic Spanish player returns to Dubai and Abu Dhabi for the final year of his illustrious career.
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