Moxie
Multiple Major Winner
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2013
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It's been way beyond the money for a long time. It's almost odd you'd start there. Your question seems to be: why try to come back, and not just retire?Not to nitpick details, but according to a web search, Rafa's net worth is $220 million. No small potatoes, but even if we pad it a bit, that's a quarter or third of a billion.
And I totally agree that he won't play for money - that's an absurd idea, quite frankly. I'm sure one of the Nadalites can speak more accurately to his motives, but my guess is a combination of love of the game/competition, records/legacy, and perhaps out of some sense of duty to his fans.
Given the setbacks he's undergone these last two years, I would guess it is more the 1st and 3rd...love of the game and for his fans. I'm not sure what else he can do to pad his record, and he must know he's got very little chance of catching Novak in the Slam count. I think he just loves tennis, loves competing, and loves his fans. After the last two decades (three, really), and being one of the best who ever played, it is a hard thing to give up. Roger didn't fully give up until he started slipping out of elite level. He was still playing at a very high level in 2019 and the beginning of 2020, but when he came back in 2021 he was a shadow of his former self. The writing was plain on the wall.
If I might start with Roger, he was out for a long time, but didn't retire. Until he realized he had to. As Annacone liked to tell us, Roger was an optimist, he loved the game, and he even loved the travel. And he loved his fans. Rafa is not dissimilar. He loves the game, and certainly his fans, but, also significantly, he loves the competition. His competitiveness is one of his defining features. Which is why I think he'll play golf competitively when he retires. When he comes back, he will expect to be competitive. If he feels he can't be, we might get the surprise retirement. I also suspect he wants to give a last run at RG, and maybe the Olympics, to be played on clay in Paris. I honestly don't think chasing Novak in the slam count is part of it, nor records, anymore. He seems pretty contented as to where he landed, as he should be, on that front. You asked for a fan's opinion, and that's mine.