JAKARTA The well-known tennis coach, Rick Macci, believes that Rafael Nadal will not be competitive in the race for the Grand Slam title next season after a long absence.
Nadal has not played since suffering a hip injury when he lost to Macnch McDonald in the Australian Open 2023 in January 2023.
This 22-time Grand Slam Champion underwent surgery to solve this problem in June 2023. He is now fit and ready to return to the tournament.
"Regarding Rafa's return, as he ages, he will lose a bit of mobility and other players (surely) are not afraid when they find out that he is vulnerable," Rick said as quoted by Tennis 365.
Nadal was initially expected to be absent for only six to eight weeks.
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However, he was instead sidelined for the remainder of the season due to injury including having to miss the French Open for the first time since 2004.
Rick, who has coached tennis legend Serena Williams, said that a long absence would make Nadal unable to go straight into the best form, even on his favorite clay pitch.
"So, I wish Rafa the best, but he is not at the same level as before. In my opinion, he is not a competitor to win the Grand Slam," he said.
"I think he can be competitive. I think he will be a difficult opponent for anyone on clay, but it depends on his health," he added.
Absence in the rest of the season makes Nadal have to look at his record as the holder of the most Grand Slam titles passed by Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian player appeared dominant throughout the season and won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments to hold a record 24 Grand Slams.
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