Is this the end of the road for Rafael Nadal?

Rafael Nadal reacts after losing a point against Dustin Brown in Wimbledon’15

After Rafael Nadal suffered a shock exit at Wimbledon’15 at the hands of Dustin Brown, this question has been haunting all Nadal fans and tennis lovers. Is this the END of the Nadal era? Or will he make a comeback soon?

He is the record holder of nine French Open titles, a record that might never be broken, but his poor current form puts a big question mark on his future.

Here are a few points about Nadal that need attention –

Free fall in rankings

Yes, it is true. Despite losing the number one rank in July 2011 he fought hard in his comeback from injury, and in Oct’13 he got back the number one ranking. But ever since the start of 2014, there has been a free fall in his rankings and he is currently No. 10.

Nadal’s ranking might even fall further after the ongoing Wimbledon’15 gets completed. Whatever rank he falls to, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Nadal’s game is in deep trouble. His current No. 10 ranking is not a fluke.

Yes, even Roger Federer slipped to No. 8 before recovering to get a stranglehold at No. 2, and Nadal is nearly five years younger than his great rival. But the problem with Nadal is that he doesn’t play the game as effortlessly as Federer. The former in his current form is incomparable to the latter.

It’s said that one should never count a champion out, but with a few more bad tournaments under his belt, Nadal would definitely get close to that point.

Loss of athleticism

Nadal used to be a strong contender to win every Grand Slam in his early days due to his raw power and absolutely astonishing athleticism. His speedy footwork, unbreakable consistency, strong will power, unique placements, unbeatable stamina – all of this comprised to form the wall that was Rafael Nadal.

But we have not seen the Nadal we all know in the past 3-4 years. The long rallies, in which he used to cover every corner of his part of the court and which tired out his opponents, seem to be missing now. His stamina and his placements are not up to the mark.

Nadal is just 29 compared to Federer who is nearing 34, but on close comparison, one can observe a big difference in their potential longevity.

Series of injuries

Injuries can heavily contribute to any sportsman’s downfall. Nadal too has been prone to various injuries during his career, thus resulting in the loss of his consistency and his athleticism. He also suffered a back injury during his warm up for the Australian Open final’14 for which he received stem cell treatment.

Here is a list of Nadal’s losses due to various injuries –

1. Wimbledon’07 vs Federer – Knee injury
2. US Open’07 vs David Ferrer – Knee injury
3. Rome Masters’08 vs Juan Carlos Ferrero – Foot Blisters
4. French Open’09 vs Robin Soderling – Knee injury
5. US Open’09 vs Juan Martin del Potro – Abdominal tear
6. Australian Open’10 vs Andy Murray – Knee injury
7. Australian Open’11 vs David Ferrer – Hamstring
8. Wimbledon’12 vs Lukas Rosol – Knee injury
9. Wimbledon’13 vs Steve Darcis – Knee injury
10. Australian Open’14 vs Wawrinka – Back injury

A trainer works on Rafael Nadal’s back during the Australian Open’14 men's singles final

Nadal’s injuries have played a vital role in the latter part of his career, and how long he goes on will depend largely on his fitness. The latest back injury against Wawrinka in Australian Open final’14 proved to be a major setback for him; it seems he has still not recovered from that injury and is struggling for his fitness.

Fourth straight loss to an unseeded player

Losing to an unseeded opponent is always frustrating. Nadal’s loss this year to an unseeded Brown increases this count to four at Wimbledon. In his last three campaigns here, he has lost to unseeded opponents everytime – Rosol (100) in ’12, Darcis (135) in ’13, Kyrgios (144) in ’14 and now this year to Brown (102).

It’s not going to be easy for Nadal to recover his strength, and it’s highly possible that he is going to fall out of the top 10 soon. And unlike Federer’s fall in the rankings in the past years and his subsequent rise to the No. 2 spot, it may not be easy for Nadal to recover in the same fashion.

He is the King of Clay and he will always be, but we seem to be nearing the end of Nadal’s bid to become the most successful Grand Slam champion of all time; 17 seems very unlikely at the moment.

That said, Nadal has been known for his strong comebacks after his losses and injures, and the entire tennis world wants to see him back in form. He’s one of the greatest tennis players in the history of game, and although he’s down at the moment, he’s definitely not out!