Tennis has been hit by a perfect storm: On the one hand, of course, the pandemic, with its limited capacity, its soulless stadiums, its Roland Garros in September… on the other side, the decline of two of the three champions who have pulled the bandwagon for a decade and a half: although Djokovic remains number one in the world and has played the last four Grand Slam tournament finals, Federer has been injured for two years and nobody knows if he will ever be able to return to the courts. In the middle, there is Nadal, to whom everything that surrounds him has an aura of mystery.
For starters, your injury. When he lost the semifinals at Roland Garros – precisely to Djokovic – there was talk of some discomfort, but in no case of the seriousness that has been shown a posteriori. Nadal missed Wimbledon, missed the Games, and tried to get hooked on the cement North American tour, but couldn’t get past a couple of games in Washington. The foot bothered him too much to support without pain and thus there was no point in continuing. At that very moment – four months ago – he decided to end the season.
Thus, until the Abu Dhabi exhibition that was held this weekend. It should be an important moment not only for tennis but for Spanish sport: the great figure of recent years returned from his injury. All eyes should be on him and more at a time when there is not too much sports media competition, precisely. There were a thousand unknowns to solve: Would Nadal be able to compete with the Murray or Shapovalov? Would the lack of filming be noticed in excess? Would you look as fit as in other returns to competition?
It is very strange that there has not been such an analysis other than in media specifically dedicated to tennis. It is as if the rest of the Spanish press, even the sports press, did not care too much if Nadal returned or not or what happened to him. Could it be that, to some extent, the illusion for Alcaraz has dethroned the Mallorcan champion much earlier than we thought? Because okay Nadal lost to Andy Murray and he lost to Denis Shapovalov. But, is this absolute silence really normal?
If anyone has found out that Nadal was playing this weekend, it is because they have seen an image in a gossip program of King Emeritus in the stands, watching the match against Murray surrounded by sheikhs. Those images did deserve media attention and they did make the rounds on televisions. It is normal, eye. In the midst of the sentences and the rumors about a possible return of Juan Carlos I to Spain, his presence, safe and sound, watching a tennis match was news, without a doubt.
Another thing is tennis. Tennis has not interested anyone. On his return to Spain, Nadal has announced his positive for coronavirus, which makes his presence at the Australian Open even more complicated, which he had already left in the air after playing against Shapovalov. A legend of our sport, of our popular culture, is leaving us, little by little, and he is doing it to the indifference of all. Rafa will turn 36 this June and there are few moments to fully enjoy him. They should be taken advantage of.
The fact that your generation has already practically said goodbye may also play a role. Maybe we have stopped asking Rafa Nadal for anything like we didn’t ask Pau Gasol for anything last year or we didn’t ask Fernando Alonso … but it must be recognized that both Alonso and Gasol have achieved an impact in the press that this return of Nadal has not even touched. Actually, I not only doubt that the average fan knew that this weekend Rafa was returning to the courts … but they were not even aware that he had left.
After two very difficult years, in which tennis has made the news more for Djokovic’s eccentricities than for anything else, 2022 is presented as a key season for ATP and WTA. The new promises must be consolidated … and the ground must be prepared to dismiss the old heroes. Fire them in a big way, as they deserve. Between the old narratives and those to come, we are currently living a somewhat sad, even painful impasse. Competitions go by without much interest. The Davis Cup has already been the icing on the cake of apathy. If Rafa Nadal goes unnoticed in Spain, how do we sell the doll in the rest of the world?
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