Rafael Nadal could return to coach Carlos Alcaraz after 'perfect farewell' at Davis Cup with Spain, says Mats Wilander

Published 28/11/2024 at 07:46 GMT

Ex-player and Eurosport expert Mats Wilander believes Rafael Nadal could return as a coach following his retirement from professional tennis at the Davis Cup last week. Nadal's exit attracted controversy for its lack of pomp and ceremony, but Wilander considered it a "perfect farewell" for a "dream athlete", calling the Spaniard "maybe the single most important tennis player we've ever had".

Nadal bids tearful farewell as career ends with Davis Cup Finals defeat

Video credit: SNTV

Former Grand Slam champion and Eurosport expert Mats Wilander has suggested that Rafael Nadal's Davis Cup exit was the "perfect farewell", despite widespread criticism of the handling of the occasion.

Wilander described him as a "dream athlete" and "maybe the single most important tennis player we've ever had" because of his incredible fighting spirit, which was on show again as he ended his playing career on home turf in Malaga, Spain.

The Swede thinks a return to coaching – like Andy Murray's surprise partnership with Novak Djokovic – could be on the cards for Nadal, with fellow Spanish player Carlos Alcaraz a prime candidate.

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"I have to say that I would most probably disagree a little bit with people that thought that this wasn't the perfect farewell," Wilander told Eurosport.

"To me, it was [the] Davis Cup, which is an amazing signal by Rafael Nadal because he could have gone somewhere [else]. He could have even played the French Open and the pressure would have been less and the expectations would have been less."

Nadal lost his final-ever match, a singles meeting with Botic van de Zandschulp at the Davis Cup, with Spain's doubles pairing subsequently losing to send them out of the competition and bringing the curtain down on legend's career – without the 22-time major winner actually being on court.

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Video credit: SNTV

Major figures in the 38-year-old's career, including Murray, Djokovic and Roger Federer, were also absent, giving the whole event a muted atmosphere and attracting criticism from several figures close to Nadal.

"I think it just goes to show why Rafael Nadal loves the sport of tennis: it is basically because he has a passion for the sport. He has a passion for competing, and in this very match, he wasn't at his best because he's 38 years old. I think it was a perfect farewell," Wilander continued.

"He was perfect in terms of his attitude. He was back in Spain, the pressure was on, it wasn't some kind of exhibition or a first round, the whole tennis world was watching and the pressure that he had on him was unbelievable."

Wilander suggested that Nadal's indomitable fighting spirit – which has been evident in his desire to prolong retirement as much as possible, despite an injury-addled final few years – was the key to his legacy as an athlete.

"Nadal is maybe the single most important tennis player that we've ever had, men or women, because the legacy he leaves is not being the best of all time. Maybe it's not being the greatest of all time, but it's being the most important because of his attitude, because of his fighting spirit.

"If you have any person playing tennis, the first thing you're gonna hope for is, 'if you play tennis with the same attitude that Rafael Nadal had, then I am completely satisfied whether you win or whether you lose or whether you play smart or whether you don't play smart. But with that attitude, I am completely satisfied with your performance'.

"He's a dream athlete. I say he is one of the most important athletes of all time, and he proved it one more time in the Davis Cup to me."

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Video credit: SNTV

Wilander, a seven-time major winner, thought the Spaniard was likely to make a return to tennis in a coaching capacity.

"It's very possible that Rafa Nadal comes back as a coach, and obviously, because of the Novak Djokovic-Andy Murray story that has just cracked open. I can even imagine Rafael Nadal coaching Carlos Alcaraz, for example," he said.

"A player like Carlos Alcaraz, the one thing that they are missing is to keep the same intensity level, from the first point till the last point.

"Rafael Nadal was the master in keeping the same focus from the first point to the last point. Carlos Alcaraz, at this particular moment, he's not able to do that in every match. Rafael Nadal was able to, so I can see that the value that Nadal would bring to any player, whether it's a kid back home at the Nadal Tennis Academy in Manacor on Mallorca, or if it's a professional, or how about being the Davis Cup captain after David Ferrer is done?

"I am pretty sure that Rafael Nadal will be coaching at some point. I think he's going to be involved in thinking about tennis, and to me, that's again so valuable for our sport, to hold on and to get these guys, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and hopefully Roger Federer one day, to hear them talk about tennis is so valuable for us.

"They are the three greatest players of all time, together with Novak Djokovic and the knowledge they have - none of us have any knowledge of the way that they know the game of tennis."

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