"I still think that Rafael Nadal will participate in the French Open and will be champion" - Spaniard's uncle Toni

Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni recently expressed his confidence in the 37-year-old competing at the French Open and even winning it.

Toni's comments came after Nadal withdrew from the Qatar Open in Doha, saying that he was not ready to compete yet.

"Hello everyone. After the videos and photos I’ve been sharing, I’ve been working on getting back playing asap. Would love to play in Doha next week but I’m not ready to compete yet," Nadal wrote in Instagram.

Nadal's uncle Toni said, while speaking at the Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio, that he believed his nephew would compete at the French Open and would win it.

"I still think that he will participate in the championship (French Open) and will be champion. It is always a very special event," Toni Nadal said as quoted by 20 minutes.

The King of Clay's former longtime coach also spoke about the Olympics and said that the 22-time Grand Slam champion said that going to the Beijing Games in 2008 was the best experience of his life because of the atmosphere.

"I remember that Rafa told me on one occasion that the best experience of his life had been going to Beijing 2008 because of the atmosphere that existed with the rest of the athletes," Toni said.

Rafael Nadal has played three matches so far in 2024 at the Brisbane International. He entered the tournament using a protected ranking and reached the quarterfinals after beating Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler after being beaten by Jordan Thompson despite having two match points.

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Rafael Nadal on his future in tennis: "I will go day by day"

Rafael Nadal at the Brisbane International

Rafael Nadal said in a recent interview that while 2024 would be his last year on tour, he wanted to take things day by day and confirm his plans regarding retirement before the French Open.

"This is going to be my last year but I don't confirm it 100%. I will go day by day. I'll say it before Roland Garros. I give myself a few months of caution. You know that things can happen, so I can't define things months in advance after a year without competing," the Spaniard was quoted as saying by Cardena COPE.

With Nadal not competing at the Qatar Open, he is next scheduled to take part at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The Spaniard is also registered to play at the Barcelona Open scheduled to take place in April.