Nadal gives his opinion on the lack of competition that Sinner and Alcaraz face

Pedro de Pablos | 20 May 2026 | 17.32

Nadal comments on the lack of competition that Sinner and Alcaraz face

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Rafael Nadal is one of the most authoritative voices in the world of tennis, as well as one of the greatest tennis players in history. During the presentation of his new Netflix documentary, which will premiere on May 29 during Roland Garros, the former world number one has highlighted the lack of competition that Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz currently face, who are dominating all the major tournaments.

During the era of the 'Big Three,' both Roger Federer, Nadal, and later Novak Djokovic, encountered other players who pushed them to their limits. The clearest example is Andy Murray, but there were also other names like Juan Martín del Potro, Dominic Thiem, or Stan Wawrinka who managed to win Grand Slams in a very competitive era. However, in an interview with EFE, the tennis player from Manacor talked about the lack of new contenders, which is even more concerning now that Carlos Alcaraz is injured and Sinner is winning everything.

"I don't like to say there is less competitiveness than before; each era is different. Right now, there are two players making a big difference compared to the rest, and that seems to devalue things a bit, but it's the moment they are living. I trust that enthusiastic young players will emerge to challenge them. It's good for tennis to have established champions like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, but it's also good for them to have challengers, and at the moment, it seems there are none," he states.

Nadal talks about any regrets during his career

In Nadal's case, he retired in 2024, and a year and a half later, a documentary will be released showing the final stage of his career in which he suffered a lot. However, he left with his head held high, knowing that he had given his all to the sport he loves. "I made enough effort to reach this point in my life feeling at peace for having done things the way they needed to be done, and, if there wasn't more to do, it was because there wasn't more, which makes me happy today. Being at peace, working on other things in life. Learning from others and facing this part of my life with enthusiasm."

In fact, there is only one thing he would have liked to change, which is spending more time traveling with his family once he became a father. "I would have liked to have traveled more with them. Since my wife and son were happy, I was excited to keep trying, and I tried until I really saw that I couldn't. I took the time I needed as per the doctors' advice to explore whether I could fully recover after the surgery I underwent. On realizing that was not achievable, I made the decision to stop. Would I have liked to travel a bit longer and give my son the opportunity to have a bit more awareness to live experiences and see other places in the world? Yes, but it's okay."

He is greatly missed on the circuit, but the good news is that he remains closely tied to tennis enough to make these occasional appearances and share his views on such topics. "From when we started in 2003 until I retired in 2024, there had already been a change. The world evolves, and sports are not immune to it," he concludes. Therefore, as he himself says, this reign of Sinner and Alcaraz will likely not last long as they will soon find their rivals.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Nadal opina sobre la falta de competencia que tienen Sinner y Alcaraz