I have always lived with the sensation that my foot would give out and force me into retirement," Nadal honest about his chronic illness

Throughout a career spanning more than 20 years, Nadal has experienced shortened seasons due to a chronic foot condition known as Müller-Weiss syndrome. In an interview with L’Équipe, the Spaniard opened up about this issue:

"I have had few injury-free years. I have never lost sight of the fact that my foot problem is chronic and without solution. I have always lived with the sensation that at some point my foot would give out and push me into retirement, as it almost did in the end. I think that because of my foot and all the adjustments made to my insole to continue playing tennis, my body became unbalanced.

I had to play with a very, very aggressive insole from 2005 on, with a wedge that redirected my foot inward. At its highest, it was seven millimeters, which is enormous. But no illusions, no reason to complain, because despite all that, I have achieved far more than I would have imagined even if I had been in perfect health.