Even though playing tennis for Rafael Nadal often looked and sounded like a tough fight and inhuman effort – he really loved it. If this wasn’t clear to you, it must have become clear in the last few months and years: Nadal has suffered from many injuries. In particular, the problems with the scaphoid bone in his foot, which have been recurring since the beginning of his career, are considered extremely painful.
Nevertheless, Nadal tried again and again and again and always returned to the tennis court. Mainly because of the adrenaline of big matches, says Nadal. “I probably won’t feel this kind of adrenaline rush again outside of professional sports.”
Impressive record
Nadal would certainly like a title at the end of his career, but he doesn’t need it for his record. The Spaniard has achieved everything that is important in tennis:
He won the Davis Cup for the first time when he was 18. He won the French Open for the first time on his 19th birthday. A tournament in which he did not receive the winner’s trophy until the age of 36 only in exceptional cases. Nadal has also won the three other Grand Slam titles at least twice each. And he is also an Olympic champion: in singles and doubles. No other player has all of these titles.
What’s remarkable is that Nadal’s career came at a time full of tennis giants. The Swiss Roger Federer and the Serbian Novak Djokovic are also considered players of the century. The great respect that exists between these opponents is also remarkable. Federer’s last match was a doubles match with Nadal. At the ceremony that followed, the two superstars sat next to each other, crying and holding each other’s hands.
Body ends career
Now Nadal stops. He says his body no longer allows him to play at the highest level. “I can no longer go into a competition the way I want and expect because my body no longer allows it.”
Rafael Nadal played 0-2 in the quarterfinals against Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in singles on Tuesday. After Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers lost 2-0 against the Netherlands in the doubles match, Spain was eliminated as a team. For Nadal, the game against Botic van de Zandschulp was his last game. His successor Carlos Alcaraz would have liked to have given him the title.
