Rafael Nadal has given a new hint about his potential retirement after being told to hang up his racket with immediate effect.

The injury-prone Spaniard has played a very limited schedule since making his return from surgery this year.

His most recent outing came at the Olympics, where he left without a medal despite entering the singles and doubles draws.

Nadal then pulled out of the US Open and he has since been enjoying some time off. The 22-time Grand Slam champion was at the Son Moix stadium on Sunday night to watch his two football teams, Real Madrid and Mallorca, face off.

And he offered a brief new update on his future plans, confirming that he still hadn’t decided on retirement. “I am not in a period of reflection, I am on vacation,” he told El Desmarque. “I try not to think about things on vacation so that they are better. I will return to training this Monday, I have the Laver Cup in a few weeks but I will take it easy.

“I am in no hurry to make one decision or another, when I make it I will tell you without any problem. I cannot live day by day thinking about when I will retire, I live my path and when I make a decision we will all know it.”

The Laver Cup – a Ryder-cup style team tournament co-created by Roger Federer – is the only event that Nadal has committed to for the rest of the season. This year’s edition is being staged in Berlin from September 20 to 22.

The former world No. 1 has represented Team Europe at the Laver Cup on three previous occasions. His last appearance was in 2022 when he joined forces with Federer in the doubles for the Swiss star’s retirement.

It remains to be seen whether the Laver Cup will also become Nadal’s final tournament. But Express Sport readers believe the 38-year-old should have already retired. Asked whether Nadal should call it a day after the Olympics, a staggering 74 per cent of readers said yes, despite him shutting down retirement questions in Paris.