“At 26 or 27, I never expected I'd be where I am now at 34,” admits Rafa on talk show El Hormiguero (Both photos: @El_Hormiguero on Twitter)
TENNIS fans in Spain – and quite possibly, worldwide – gave a collective cry of anguish last October when 'King of Clay' Rafael Nadal hinted that his retirement would not be far off; but the Mallorca-born star reassured his public on a recent talk show that he has 'never thought about giving up'.
Rafa, 34, was guest on the silly chat programme El Hormiguero, which translates as 'The Ant's Nest' and in which celebrities featured never take themselves too seriously – and presenter Pablo Motos would not let them, in any case.
The 13-times Roland Garros champion had just been awarded the Gran Cruz de la Orden del Dos de Mayo ('Great Cross of the Order of May 2'), the highest distinction ever granted by the Greater Madrid regional government, not only in recognition of his unprecedented sporting success, but also for his humble approach to life and his profession, his determination and self-critical nature.
Pablo Motos firstly mentioned Nadal's epic victory against former number one, Serbia's Novak Djoković, when the Spaniard netted his 20th Grand Slam title.
“On the day of the final, when I went to start warming up, my feeling was, 'well, here we are',” Rafa admitted.
He also said conditions at this year's Roland Garros tournament, which he has won more times than any other player during the Open era, were tough and unusual, given that it had been pushed back due to the pandemic.
“What happens is that, normally, we're playing in the heat and the ball bounces happily, but the situation gets tricky when it's cold,” Nadal said.
As for his hints in October 2019 about an imminent retirement, the prodigy from Manacor was philosophical: “I don't often think, 'this could be my last trophy', but as the years go by, you do reflect on it. It's a reality. At age 26 or 27, I was never expecting I'd be where I am now at 34 – these last years are a gift, and I'm looking at my sporting career differently. I enjoy it more; I even enjoy my training sessions more.
“Giving it up has never entered my head. Stopping for a time, yes; but giving it up altogether, never.”
These words sparked a nationwide sigh of relief, particularly as, by last October, his injuries were starting to hold him back more and more – beginning with his knee, in 2012, which forced him out of Wimbledon after a disappointing first round and put paid to taking part in the London Olympics.
A year ago, he was suffering a wrist strain, and the year before that, physical problems led to his scratching from several tournaments.
In fact, Nadal recently told TV viewers that he could barely remember a time when playing a match was not actually painful.
“Fortunately, despite having had more injuries in these last few years, results come back quickly and it's easier on the ego,” he told Motos.
Pain aside, for as long as he is enjoying himself, it seems Rafa will not hang up his racquet, and even though he is known for being exceptionally hard on himself in his drive to do better and unforgiving of his own mistakes, his style of coaching is a lot more relaxed.
Rafael Nadal's bespoke tennis academy has boys and girls from around 40 countries playing, training and working on bettering their skills, and is a facility and an opportunity that he 'would have liked' to have had available to him as a youngster.
The ATP world number two insists that 'first and foremost' the children at his academy should be 'having fun'.
“It's really important that they make the maximum effort and have the maximum fun – you can't try to be a professional from eight or nine years old. You need to be a child and live a child's lifestyle whilst also making a great effort,” Rafa advises.
Even top tennis stars like Nadal, who are used to winning – in his case, over 1,000 ATP victories – have to learn to lose, and go through disappointment and almost grief when they do not.
“From the first moment, you start to analyse what happened and what to do better – the 'grieving process' doesn't last long with me; to start with you're a bit detached, but then you talk with your team and they encourage you and help you analyse it,” Nadal explained.
He is, though, very conscious of how fortunate top-end professionals in major global sports are, even though this year they all faced huge challenges in getting themselves back up to full fitness and skills after their long, enforced down time.
“We have to be grateful for our lives – despite going nine months without playing, we've managed to get back on our feet. We should be very thankful for it,” Rafa stressed.
As for his pre-match routine, Nadal confessed he did not always sleep very well the night before, but usually found this did not impede his performance.
“I always know I'm going to be really nervous leading up to a final, but then I get up and I'm full of adrenaline. When I'm under a lot of pressure, I do get nervous, but defeat and victory are part of our lives and we need to accept that,” he says.
El Hormiguero is always a show that has celebrities unveiling little-known or never-known facts about themselves, from the banal to the intriguing, and in the case of Rafael Nadal, viewers learned that he loves partying, his 'tipple' is tequila, his 'go-to' dinner is white fish with rice, he loves chocolate, and that he is a 'softie' who cries at the drop of a hat.
“I've cried over numerous films – ET, Titanic, The Lion King when Mufasa died,” Rafa confessed.
