MADRID – Rafael Nadal sought the help of a psychiatrist to escape his darkest period: that 2015–2016 season when anxiety overcame the man who would eventually go on to win 22 Grand Slams.
“I was choking on my own saliva,” the former Spanish tennis player admitted in an interview with Marca, where he reviewed some of the most striking moments from RAFA, the docuseries set to premiere on Netflix on May 29.
When recalling the endless list of opponents Nadal’s body faced throughout his career, it is natural to think of his knees, his foot, his wrist, his hip… Rarely does the brain appear on that list. However, the new series makes it clear that his mind turned from ally to enemy, plunging the Spaniard into his worst crisis.
“In 2015, I had an episode that lasted a year. It was difficult to control what I had been controlling my whole life. In the end, I always understood that I had to resolve certain issues on my own. So, at that time, I figured I could deal with what was happening to me on court by myself. I never considered that the things that happen to you on a tennis court were important enough to resort to certain other measures,” Nadal told Marca.
After winning Roland Garros in 2014, the Spaniard went three years without capturing a Grand Slam title—the worst drought of his career. In fact, he went ten consecutive majors without making it past the quarterfinal round. Back then, Nadal spoke openly about anxiety and how he struggled to manage his breathing and find calm. In the Netflix docuseries, however, he goes a step further in that narrative, as teased by the Spaniard in the interview.
“At a certain point, it’s one thing to lose control of my emotions or the situation on a tennis court, but it’s another thing entirely when, away from the court, I have to go out for a walk carrying a bottle of water because otherwise, I choke on my own saliva,” the 14-time Roland Garros champion recounted. “So I said, okay, I have a problem, I need to see professionals. I visited a psychologist, and she laid out things I already knew. It was completely rational. So I thought, ‘How can this be happening to me?’ But it was happening, it was my reality. I needed a different kind of help. So I went to a psychiatrist. He gave me a medication that allowed me to improve over the months. And that’s how it went.”
Coming 🔜…
📺 @netflix pic.twitter.com/NprQy47TQD— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) May 19, 2026
The split with Uncle Toni: “It wasn’t pleasant”
That crisis marked a turning point in the relationship between Nadal and his uncle Toni, his lifelong coach. In late 2016, seeking an extra spark, the tennis star decided to add Carlos Moyá to his team. A year later, Toni Nadal stepped aside, leaving Moyá as head coach and laying the foundation for Nadal’s final glorious era.
“It was never done with the intention of Toni leaving the team. But after a while, Toni decided to step aside,” said Nadal, who actually found out through the press that his uncle was leaving his camp. “It’s unbelievable. It wasn’t pleasant at the time. But that’s how it went. He didn’t change his mind. I had a conversation with him afterward, and, obviously, everything worked out as it always does. In the end, there are too many connections, too many important things we lived through together. He is my uncle and I love him. First for that, and then for everything else and everything I achieved thanks to him.”
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