Rafael Nadal's uncle confirms when tennis icon will retire as Carlos Alcaraz hailed
Rafael Nadal plans on retiring from tennis next year
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Rafael Nadal's uncle has confirmed the tennis icon plans on retiring from the sport next year.
The Spaniard is one of the best players to have graced the game, winning a stunning 22 Grand Slams throughout his career so far.
Only Novak Djokovic has won more, while Nadal also has more majors than Roger Federer.
The veteran said earlier this year that he was looking to retire next year, with injuries taking their toll.
Carlos Alcaraz has been hailed by Rafael Nadal's uncle after Wimbledon triumph
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And Nadal's uncle Toni has now seemingly confirmed his nephew's intentions, while also making a joke about the brilliance of Carlos Alcaraz.
He told Marca: "Rafa is fine, on vacation, wanting to hit the court in 2024.
"Let's hope Alcaraz lets us win something then. He is excited to come back and retire on the track."
Nadal has struggled to stay fit this year.
He hasn't played since the Australian Open in January, when he exited the competition in the first round.
Nadal was unable to play at the French Open, a tournament he's won a sensational 14 times over the years.
And the 37-year-old was also forced to withdraw from Wimbledon, with compatriot Alcaraz then going on to reign supreme instead.
Upon revealing he wouldn't be playing in the French Open, Nadal said: "My goal and my ambition is to try and stop and give myself an opportunity to enjoy the next year that will probably be my last year in the professional tour.
"That is my idea but I can't say 100 per cent it will be like this, but my idea and my motivation is to try to enjoy and say goodbye to all the tournaments that have been important for me.
"To enjoy being competitive and something that today is not possible.
"I believe if I keep going now, I will not be able to make it happen."
When Nadal does call time on his tennis career, it will be a sad day for the sport.
Few imagined all those years ago that he'd go on to establish himself as one of the greatest players to have ever picked up a racket.
Nadal has played in arguably the most difficult era of them all due to the high level of competition around him.
Federer, Djokovic and Andy Murray are all modern-day greats.
And whether Nadal can go out on a high remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Toni also said recently that Djokovic was the only player capable of preventing Alcaraz from dominating the sport in the foreseeable future.
Writing for El Pais, he said: “Honestly, I don’t see any tennis player on the current scene, with the exception of Djokovic, capable of stopping Carlos’ unstoppable rise.
“Djokovic does not have many years left and I think that Spanish fans will have the opportunity to enjoy many more matches and celebrate many more victories on both hot and cold Sunday afternoons.”
He added: “Djokovic demonstrated, once again, his willingness to fight and his great tennis quality.
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Rafael Nadal has won 22 Grand Slam titles including two Wimbledon crowns
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“Despite being 16 years older than his rival and finding himself in an unfavourable situation, he continued to cling to the match and raised his level, adjusted his shots more and managed to prevent Carlos from closing the final without giving himself a last chance in the final set.
“Although it is true that the difference in age gave the Spaniard a certain advantage, when we reached this fifth set I thought that certainly either of the two players could win.”
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