Rafael Nadal not thinking of retiring, will play French Open: Spaniard's uncle Toni

Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni has stated that the 36-year-old will play the 2023 French Open. Toni has also claimed that his nephew has no plans of retiring just yet.

Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, has been on the sidelines since his second-round exit at the Australian Open due to a hip injury. Yet to play on clay this year, the 14-time French Open champion will be rolling into Paris with less-than-stellar match practice.

But that doesn't mean he is not confident, according to his uncle. Toni Nadal believes that the southpaw has enough passion for the sport to make a full recovery in time for his title defense at Roland Garros.

The tennis coach also admitted, however, that Nadal's chances at Roland Garros will depend a lot on how he trains in the coming weeks and how many matches he can get under his belt at the Italian Open - if he chooses to participate in it.

"He is not thinking about retiring, he just wants to recover well and continue competing because he is passionate about this sport," Toni said in a recent interview with Radio MARCA. "He would like to be competing now, but there is little left for that to happen. He is going to play in Paris, although how he trains in the coming weeks and what he can do in Rome will be important to measure his aspirations there."

In 2022, Rafael Nadal defeated Casper Ruud in the final to win a record-extending 14th title at the tournament and a then-record 22nd Grand Slam title.

Rafael Nadal doesn't have a lot of points to defend after French Open

2022 US Open - Day 8

Rafael Nadal slipped out of the top 10 in the ATP rankings earlier this year, bringing to an end his record 18-year stay there. The Mallorcan's inability to defend his Australian Open title as well as his Indian Wells runner-up result were among the main reasons why he took a tumble in the rankings.

With 2,000 points at stake in the French Open, Nadal will be hoping to defend as many of those as possible. Thankfully for him, however, the former World No. 1 doesn't have a lot of points to defend after his stint in Roland Garros.

With no points at Wimbledon, a second-round exit at the Paris Masters and the Cincinnati Open and a fourth-round exit at the US Open last year, Nadal has almost nothing to defend in the second half of 2023. Although he did qualify for the ATP Finals, he could not get out of the group stage.