Andy Roddick predicted Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal from Indian Wells just days before the tournament began

The biggest question mark entering the 2024 tennis season was Rafael Nadal. His return to the sport this year was much anticipated, but has quickly turned unforgettable for other unfortunate reasons.

“Rafa pulls out of Palm Springs after pulling out of Australia, after pulling out of Doha,” Andy Roddick recaps on this week's episode of Served with Andy Roddick.

While Roddick, like tennis fans worldwide, was cautiously optimistic for the Spaniard heading into this spring's Sunshine Swing, the former world No. 1's front-row seat to Nadal's brief return to match action against Carlos Alcaraz in the Netflix Slam last Sunday in Las Vegas ultimately led him to a lingering hunch: that the 37-year-old's injury woes were not fully behind him. (He was proven right three days later, as Nadal announced "with great sadness" that he wouldn't play in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.)

“It just felt like he was having a hard time getting out of that backhand corner consistently,” Roddick said to Tennis Channel talent Prakash Amritraj, who was sitting beside him as he joined fellow legends Jim Courier and Andre Agassi for live commentary.

“He wasn’t serving great, he didn’t look committed. I said to Prakash, 'I think it’s a 40% chance that he pulls out of Indian Wells, so I wasn’t shocked [by the withdrawal].'”

“I think this is the last time we see him play in the States, it’s probably the last time we see him play on a hard court, and the gravity of tennis without him feels more real by the day,” Roddick added.

Wertheim agreed that the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s career is reaching its end, adding that the changes of an Olympic appearance for Spain this summer are close to nil—even though they'll be held at his favorite venue in Paris, on his favorite surface.

“Short of every Spanish player ranking ahead of him saying they’re taking a back seat, if the Olympics were today he wouldn’t be eligible,” Wertheim said.

“All signs point to Roland Garros,” Roddick said of Nadal's possible swan song, before speaking directly to him: "I hope you get the ending you want.”

The two also discussed Simona Halep’s winning appeal and sudden return to tennis, which has seen her already accept a wild card into the Miami Open; and also welcomed Brad Gilbert for the first time, where he revealed how he started working with Coco Gauff, as well as reminisced on the good old days working with Roddick way back when.

Tune in for the next episode next Sunday night, March 17, live on Tennis Channel’s second network, T2.