Nadal on the calendar: "Playing more isn't always better".

Adrien Guyot

le 26/12/2024 à 08h09

2 min to read

Fonseca Mensik Michelsen Nadal

Over the last few days, Rafael Nadal has been in Jeddah for the Next Gen ATP Finals.

The Spanish legend, who retired in November after the Davis Cup Final 8, was able to meet the tournament's participants.

In a video published by the ATP Tour channel on YouTube, Nadal chatted for a few minutes with João Fonseca, Alex Michelsen and Jakub Mensik.

Asked by Michelsen about the overloaded calendar, the man with 22 Grand Slam titles believes that everything comes with experience, but that a balance between professional and personal life is fundamental.

"At the end of the day, you realize that playing more isn't always better.

From my point of view, when you play too much, you start to feel like you're just a hard worker, and sport can't be a normal, monotonous job: it's passion.

You lose some of the freshness you need at any given moment. Clearly, when you're younger, you have to play more, and depending on the results, you can adapt your schedule.

But you have to find a balance, because playing more can lead to exhaustion, you collapse.

What counts is not the number of tournaments you play, but the number of matches you play.

Tennis is a sport that's played mentally and demands a lot, because the margins are so small.

In the end, in tennis, when you win 6-3, 6-3 and when you lose 6-3, 6-3, the difference in the game you play is very small, so it's mental freshness that can make the difference," he assures us.