{"id":17377,"date":"2025-01-07T02:04:24","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T02:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17377"},"modified":"2025-01-07T02:04:24","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T02:04:24","slug":"rafael-nadal-and-andy-murrays-retirement-decisions-labelled-a-disgrace-by-atp-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17377","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray’s retirement decisions labelled ‘a disgrace’ by ATP star"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Rafael<\/figure>\n

Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray retired in 2024<\/p>\n

Alexander Bublik has made the controversial claim that Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray\u2019s retirements in 2024 were a \u201ccircus\u201d and a \u201cdisgrace.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The world No 33 revealed players once looked at Nadal and Murray \u201cwith our mouths open in the locker room\u201d, but criticised the legendary duo for continuing to play after it was clear they would \u201cnever be the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray called time on his career after the 2024 Paris Olympics in August \u2014 over seven years after suffering a serious hip injury in 2017.<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old Brit, a three-time major champion, had surgery on his hip in 2018 before undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in 2019.<\/p>\n

A 38-year-old Nadal joined his fellow former world No 1 in retirement in November after playing his last-ever match at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.<\/p>\n

The Spaniard won his 22nd Grand Slam \u2014 and 92nd and final career title \u2014 at the 2022 French Open. Following that, Nadal was unable to compete regularly due to injury issues, including a hip problem at the start of 2023.<\/p>\n

More Tennis News<\/h2>\n

ATP Rankings: Jannik Sinner edges closer to Carlos Alcaraz as Kei Nishikori returns to top 100, Reilly Opelka +122<\/p>\n

The 7 men with the most Australian Open match wins: Novak Djokovic 2nd, Roger Federer with 102<\/p>\n

In an interview with Match TV, Bublik explained he had changed his mind having previously claimed he wanted to retire early.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything I said before turned out to be too expressive and not true,\u201d the 27-year-old admitted. \u201cI always thought that I would finish early, but now it seems that I will play for many years. I want to perform for a long time.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s put it this way: if I play another eight or nine seasons like this, I\u2019ll be 35 or 36 years old \u2014 that\u2019ll be good. If I can play the next eight or nine out of 10 years at the same level as now, I\u2019ll be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite this, the former world No 17 argued both Nadal and Murray waited too long to bring the curtain down on their glittering careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I want to leave at the peak,\u201d Bublik continued. \u201cIt is clear that I am not Rafa, my legacy will be much smaller, if you can call it that. What happened to Andy Murray and Rafa is a circus. I can\u2019t call it anything else.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people achieved everything, even we, tennis players, looked at them with our mouths open in the locker room, and then you see one of them bald and old.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is clear that he is not the same and will never be the same. In my opinion, it is even a disgrace, not a circus. Perhaps it would be more correct to say so. Although Rafa still left normally.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ NEXT:\u00a02025 Australian Open projected men\u2019s singles seeds: ft. Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An ATP star has made the controversial claim that Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray’s retirements in 2024 were a “circus” and a “disgrace.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"\nRafael Nadal and Andy Murray's retirement decisions labelled 'a disgrace' by ATP star - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=17377\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray's retirement decisions labelled 'a disgrace' by ATP star - 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