John McEnroe addresses whether Rafael Nadal could ‘hurt his legacy’ in retirement verdict

Tennis great John McEnroe has shut down the notion that Rafael Nadal could “hurt his legacy” by continuing to play for another year.

The former world No 1 hailed Nadal for bringing tennis “up to another level” and believes the fact the Spanish legend does not want to retire is “an incredible thing” that demonstrates his love for the sport.

Following his opening round defeat to Alexander Zverev at the 2024 French Open, Nadal left the door open to returning to Roland Garros next year.

The 38-year-old had previously revealed 2024 would likely be the final season of his career, having struggled with injuries for much of the last two-and-a-half years.

Nadal’s appearance at the French Open was his first at a Grand Slam since the 2023 Australian Open, where he suffered a serious hip injury that ended his season. He made his comeback in Brisbane in January and has played five tournaments in 2024.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion is next set to play at the Paris Olympics, which will be held at Roland Garros from July 27 to August 4.

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McEnroe ranked Nadal as one of the three greatest players ever alongside Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer as he discussed his legacy.

“Rafa is a total class act, and because of his success and the way he is as a person, and what he brings to tennis, no one should be telling him what to do,” McEnroe told Eurosport .

“I don’t think it’s going to hurt his legacy if he played another year and didn’t do as well. He’s one of the [top] two or three to me.

“You’re looking at the three greatest players that ever lived, with Rafa, Novak, and Roger. He brought tennis up to another level.

“That’s just the way it is. Look at Andy Murray. He’s been trying to get it right. There are a lot of players. For me, personally, it was a decline over a period of years.

“You could argue that a lot of players, including myself, when it doesn’t appear that you’re capable of winning a Major, should stop.

“But that’s up to him. He’s got a legacy that will never be forgotten or tarnished, in my opinion. I don’t think the fact that he still loves to play and wants to compete is a bad thing.

“That’s a good thing. The fact that he still wants to do it, even though his body has made it really difficult the last two years, shows you how much he loves tennis, and that’s an incredible thing to me.”

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion also lauded the way Nadal was able to improve his game throughout his career.

“I remember seeing him early on his serve, you know he was hitting it 160-170 kilometres, to 105-110 mph,” McEnroe added.

“He beefed up his serve over the course of time. In a way, he showed more improvement than any top player I’ve ever seen, that he was able to get that much better on all surfaces.

“That process took the better part of 10-12 years. That would be my peak thought, you know, time around for him.

“He’s obviously had a lot of issues the last few years, a number of years with injuries, and that hasn’t helped. But he’s still played at a very high level, but maybe not quite as high as before.”

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