MANACOR — Rafael Nadal admitted that he is finding it very difficult to reconnect with tennis two years after his retirement, and that the fierce competitor within him is disappearing.
“The competitive Rafa Nadal scores zero, to be completely honest. I’m in another stage now,” Nadal said this Saturday in Manacor, hours before lacing up his shoes to play an exhibition tournament for the 10th anniversary of his Academy. “I have no competitive ambition other than to have a good time and try not to hurt ourselves.”
After hanging up his racket in November 2024 plagued by physical issues, Nadal has barely played tennis since. Only on rare occasions. “In the last two years, I had picked up a racket maybe four times, for half an hour or 45 minutes. In the last two or three weeks, I’ve played about six times,” he explained regarding his preparation for an exhibition featuring sports legends like Andy Murray, Marat Safin, Carlos Moyà, and David Ferrer.
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The 22-time Grand Slam champion spoke about what it means to be a former tennis player and how he is handling that process. Holding the racket in his hand brings back fond memories, obviously, but it also awakens a few ghosts.
“Holding a racket will always be fun for me. I’m not closing the door on playing again for fun; I think that will happen. The only thing is that it has to be a slow process. A step-by-step process, day by day, little by little. And there’s also the fact that I ended my career with many physical problems, so the racket also reminds me of all the pain I’ve had throughout a good part of my career,” the former ATP No. 1 reflected in his academy’s press room. “And the truth is, without a racket in my daily life, I feel pretty good. That is very important after so many years living a different reality.”
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Nadal, 40, also spoke about the constant pain he endured throughout his career and how it ended up affecting his mindset and temper. “I think I maintained good mental balance throughout my entire career, that’s real, but when someone lives with daily pain, it’s unavoidable that it ends up affecting your character,” the Spaniard said.
Aside from a surgery to get a hand prosthesis, Nadal admitted that once tennis was put aside, most of his chronic pains disappeared. “The recurrent pains I had have mostly gone away, and that has a huge positive effect on your mental state and, I think, the mood you live in,” he assured. “You feel better, without a doubt, and you have the ability to enjoy life more when you live with fewer problems.”
