Nadal 'Will Decide If He Is Ready To Play' On Farewell Says His Davis Cup Teammate

Rafael Nadal will determine whether he is ready to compete at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, according to his teammate Roberto Bautista Agut.

This year's Davis Cup Finals promises to be the most emotional in the tournament's history. That is because Nadal's legendary career will end after Team Spain's final match at this year's iteration of the team event.

Nadal announced that decision last month. After several attempts to return to a level good enough to challenge for the most significant tournaments, the 22-time Grand Slam champion eventually decided it was time to end his career.

Although the Spaniard has not retired yet, some are already emotional about his upcoming exit from the sport. He is widely considered one of the three greatest players ever, along with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Djokovic already paid an emotional tribute to Nadal after their final professional match at the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia. The Serbian called his great rival an incredible person and also promised to attend Nadal's final appearance at the Davis Cup Finals.

Despite losing to Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam, Nadal performed well against those high-quality opponents after his injury issues in recent years. That raised hopes about him playing singles in Malaga.

Although fans will undoubtedly want to see him play as much as possible, Nadal has vowed not to be on the court unless he feels fit and ready to give Team Spain the best chance of winning the Davis Cup.

Nadal seems more certain to play doubles with Alcaraz than singles. Roberto Bautista Agut, who had an unexpected run to the European Open title in Antwerp a few weeks ago, is expected to take Nadal's singles place if he cannot play.

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Djokovic already paid an emotional tribute to Nadal after their final professional match at the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia. The Serbian called his great rival an incredible person and also promised to attend Nadal's final appearance at the Davis Cup Finals.

Despite losing to Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam, Nadal performed well against those high-quality opponents after his injury issues in recent years. That raised hopes about him playing singles in Malaga.

Although fans will undoubtedly want to see him play as much as possible, Nadal has vowed not to be on the court unless he feels fit and ready to give Team Spain the best chance of winning the Davis Cup.

Nadal seems more certain to play doubles with Alcaraz than singles. Roberto Bautista Agut, who had an unexpected run to the European Open title in Antwerp a few weeks ago, is expected to take Nadal's singles place if he cannot play.

David Ferrer is Team Spain's captain, but Bautista Agut told Marca that Nadal will decide if he can play singles. He also promised to be ready regardless of his legendary compatriot's decision.

"More than between me and Rafa, Rafa will decide if he is ready to play or not. Let’s hope he is fine and we will see who plays. I am ready and I will try to prepare myself as I always do for the Davis Cup – I am ready to play."

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Djokovic already paid an emotional tribute to Nadal after their final professional match at the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia. The Serbian called his great rival an incredible person and also promised to attend Nadal's final appearance at the Davis Cup Finals.

Despite losing to Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam, Nadal performed well against those high-quality opponents after his injury issues in recent years. That raised hopes about him playing singles in Malaga.

Although fans will undoubtedly want to see him play as much as possible, Nadal has vowed not to be on the court unless he feels fit and ready to give Team Spain the best chance of winning the Davis Cup.

Nadal seems more certain to play doubles with Alcaraz than singles. Roberto Bautista Agut, who had an unexpected run to the European Open title in Antwerp a few weeks ago, is expected to take Nadal's singles place if he cannot play.

David Ferrer is Team Spain's captain, but Bautista Agut told Marca that Nadal will decide if he can play singles. He also promised to be ready regardless of his legendary compatriot's decision.

"More than between me and Rafa, Rafa will decide if he is ready to play or not. Let’s hope he is fine and we will see who plays. I am ready and I will try to prepare myself as I always do for the Davis Cup – I am ready to play."

Although Bautista Agut is unsure whether Nadal will be ready to play singles at the Davis Cup Finals, he knows the 14-time French Open champion will do everything possible to be fit to compete.

"Knowing Rafa, I know he’s going to do everything possible to play, he’s going to prepare. He’s a born competitor and there have been very few of those."

"I know him and I know he’s going to give his all and he’s going to try to be fully prepared for his last match. Many things can happen. Luckily we are five players who will be there giving it our all."

Team Spain's quarterfinal is scheduled for November 19th, meaning Nadal only has a short period remaining to determine if he can play singles and doubles.