Nadal reflects on his final years on the circuit: "After the Olympics, I went home and told myself it was over"
A tennis legend and member of the famous Big 3 that dominated the sport for several decades, Rafael Nadal ended his illustrious career at the end of 2024 during the Davis Cup Final 8 in his home country, Malaga.
After playing his first singles match against Botic van de Zandschulp (defeat 6-4, 6-4), the Spaniard hung up his rackets, following several months of struggles due to recurring physical issues.
Winner of 92 titles on the circuit, including 22 Grand Slams, 36 Masters 1000, and an Olympic gold medal in singles, the Mallorcan left his mark on the sport and wrote a beautiful chapter in tennis history, alongside his two main rivals, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Guest on the podcast *Served With Andy Roddick* alongside the former American champion, Nadal reflected on the final years of his career that led to his decision to retire.
"Generally, I’m a positive person. The last few years have been tough; I’ve experienced mentally painful moments, and I had to accept certain things during my rehabilitation.
In the end, I’d say it was mostly a mountain of emotions. It’s hard to express what I feel in words. To put everything into perspective, in 2022, I won the first two Grand Slams of the season, then I injured my abs in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
I couldn’t take the court for the semifinal (against Kyrgios). A few days before the US Open that same year, I relapsed. Then, I became a father, which changed my perspective on how to approach the end of the season.
I told myself, 'Okay, I’ll prepare to start 2023 strong.' For my second tournament of the season at the Australian Open against Mackenzie McDonald, I suffered a major hip injury (he lost in three sets in the second round in Melbourne as the defending champion), and for me, the real rehabilitation process began at that moment.
In theory, it was an injury I should have recovered from normally, and even if it took longer, I should have eventually healed. I trained, trained, and trained some more, but things didn’t progress the way I wanted.
After consulting several specialists, I decided to undergo surgery. It was a major operation, but the doctors told me I could return to competition afterward.
I accepted the challenge. At that point, there were doubts, but I decided to fight. I was 37, and I thought, 'Maybe it’s time to have this surgery, and we’ll see.'
A few months earlier, I was one of the best players in the world, competing for the biggest titles on the circuit, and I loved what I was doing on the court.
After the surgery, I tried to come back, and things went more or less well, but the recovery then took six to seven months.
When I returned to the court to train, I felt good, but I realized I couldn’t push myself like before; I was limited in my movements. I gave myself an adaptation period to see how things would evolve.
In terms of tennis, I felt competitive; I didn’t feel like I had lost my power. All these months were tough, but I fought. I felt capable of returning to competition, but I couldn’t move on the court as well as before.
After the Olympics, I went home and told myself it was over. It no longer made sense to play; I didn’t feel like I could return to my best level with all these physical issues," Nadal explained.
