The final match of Nadal’s career was a 4-6, 4-6 defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp, who he had beaten in their two previous meetings in 2022.

The Spaniard made a tearful farewell from the sport he had given so much to and received a standing ovation from his home fans in the process.

Andrea Petkovic provides a ‘hot take’ about Rafael Nadal after his retirement

In many of the tributes issued in honour of Rafael Nadal and his retirement, they mentioned his competitive spirit and desire to keep improving his game.

The 38-year-old practiced with a level of intensity not seen from other players and it has often been mentioned how hard Nadal hits the ball while training.

Andrea Petkovic is of the same opinion, and she went as far as to say that Nadal would have been an even better player if he played with the same aggression in matches as he did in practice.

“I will have the hottest of hottest takes here. I think he could have been much better if he had less fear in him,” the former World number nine said on the Rennae Stubbs Podcast.

“Have you ever watched him practice? He played in practice 10x the speed which he played in matches, as he got so tight and everything got short. Sometimes you would get glimpses that Rafa would be able to play even better, which is crazy.”

Andrea Petkovic and Rennae Stubbs discuss what Rafael Nadal will do post-retirement

Petkovic discussed the top headlines in the tennis world with Rennae Stubbs, including Rafael Nadal’s retirement. They debated what his next move may be, and Stubbs thinks he will take up a new role in tennis in the future.

“I have never seen a guy [Nadal] more pumped watching another team try and win a match,” Stubbs said. “He was up and out of the stands, he was pointing his finger.

“There is no doubt in the next two or three years he will be the captain of the Spain Davis Cup team. He was yelling at David Ferrer. He was calling him over.

“He was going up, saying stuff to him, he was yelling at Alcaraz, pointing his finger, saying stuff to him. It was so great to watch. None of it was over the top, none of it was inappropriate. He was just so into it. He loves tennis.

“I know Roger loves tennis, but I think Roger loved tennis and the whole thing about his fame and the people and he loved being loved. Rafa just loved to compete. The effort he put in in the singles match, he tried to the ends of the earth in that match.”

Related Posts