Nadal: "What I Miss the Most Is the Adrenaline, the Pre-Match Nerves, and the Feeling of Stepping Onto the Court"
Rafael Nadal is enjoying his retirement. The Spanish legend, who won 22 Grand Slam titles in his career—including 14 at Roland-Garros—decided to call it quits after the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga last November.
Following Spain's quarterfinal elimination against the Netherlands, Nadal, whose last few seasons had been hampered by injuries, chose to step away after more than 20 years as a professional.
In a recent Q&A on his new TikTok account, Nadal was asked what he misses most since his last match—a loss to Botic van de Zandschulp (6-4, 6-4) over four months ago.
"Honestly, I have no idea what job I would have done if I hadn’t been a professional tennis player. Luckily or unluckily, I started very young, so I couldn’t imagine my life any other way than playing tennis.
I’ve been in the professional world since I was 15, and at that time, I still hadn’t decided what I would do if tennis didn’t work out for me. What I miss the most is the adrenaline, the pre-match nerves, and the feeling of stepping onto the court.
That’s something very hard to find outside the world of sports. To all the young players starting out in tennis, I’d tell them to strive to improve every day—that’s the most important thing.
Successful people are those who can keep getting better," he said in recent remarks, as reported by *Punto De Break*.
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