The moment of saying goodbye is one of the most complicated for any elite athlete. Going from maximum dedication, from an entire life that revolves around and for your passion, from putting your rest, your food and your energy at the service, in addition to all your time, becomes part of the past when the time comes. time to retire.
Rafa Nadal He played his last match this Tuesday after Spain’s defeat against the Netherlands in the Davis Cup after 19 years in the elite. It is not the only recent case. Andrés Iniesta did the same a few weeks ago and Garbiñe took advantage of the loudspeaker at the Laureus Awards this spring to announce that he was leaving tennis.
After the Olympic Games, many athletes see the time to reflect and weigh whether they want to start another Olympic cycle or let it be. The decision is not easy, because withdrawal can sometimes come when the body says enough is enough. The injury that shook our hearts in the badminton semifinals in Paris has meant that Carolina Marín’s goodbye has to be pending on her medical progress.
Carla Suárez: “I had begun to lose hope”
Other times, personal plans are what motivate a withdrawal where goodbyes can be made gradually. That’s what he lived Carla Suárez (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1988). In 2019, his personal life began to require a break from professional tennis, competitions and permanent travel. That’s how she decided the time had come. “I realized that off the court I was enjoying it more than on it, when I started to suffer more than necessary with tennis I started to think about it. “I had begun to lose hope,” the Canary Islander tells us.
“All of us who are athletes try to improve ourselves, not throw in the towel, but when you see that things are not progressing, that they are not improving, and that you haven’t enjoyed it for a long time, you think in depth.”
After thirteen seasons in professional basketball Leslie Knight (USA 1986) He began to sense his goodbye. In her case, her desire to be a mother was what prompted her to leave school. basket. “I was thinking about it for the last year and when I saw myself ready to be a mother, I thought “I’m at peace if my pregnancy happens, then next chapter,” says Knight.
“When I decided I was going to put an end to it was in December 2019. I held a press conference to announce that 2020 was going to be my last year. Play for the last time in Roland Garros, “Wimbledon and saying goodbye to the love of the fans.”
The plans of Carla Suarez They were completely destroyed when the pandemic hit. Covid caused all tournaments to be canceled in March. But that was not all. That summer came even harsher news. “I was diagnosed with the disease and the withdrawal was complicated by that, but in 2021 I was very lucky to be able to experience Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics and also the Billie Jean King Cup.
The duel
The pandemic situation for Carla Suarez It allowed him to gradually mourn. “I had the opportunity during the pandemic to become aware that this was what I was going to have after my sports career. I began to realize that this was going to be a life change. Let’s say that that duel was easier because it changes when you decide when to leave. I was clear about it.”
To Knight the change in life is 180 degrees. “It changes your lifestyle, you can make plans, you can spend weekends with your family, you don’t have to think all the time about what you are eating or about your rest, so on the one hand it is a relief,” says Leslie Knight , although there is also the other side of the coin. “You suddenly have a lot of free time. Waking up every morning with a purpose and feeling useful is very good, so it can be very difficult.” “In my case, since I was thinking about the baby, I didn’t have much time to think,” explains the basketball player.
Nostalgia
Once your farewells to elite sport have occurred, it may be time to miss. “When I started commenting on the first tournaments, which were Grand Slams I began to feel nostalgic, but not for everything that was necessary to get there. But you do miss entering a big court, having the fans enjoy it with you,” says the tennis player, a three-time Olympian.
Without a doubt, for Carla Suárez, the fact that “There is a bit of fear of the abyss, of what will happen next, but I was lucky to have that economic peace of mind, to continue enjoying myself. I had this dream of being a mother soon, which was very smooth and the truth is that I haven’t had any major worries about it afterwards.
“I never got a medal or anything like that, but I was in a good moment, people calling you, asking for your autograph, and you fade into the background. Here it depends a lot on each person’s personality.” Your purposes, your values, your goals… when I watch games, and I see that they ask for autographs and no one pays me the slightest attention, I understand it, I see it as part of the cycle of life, something normal, you are no longer the center and that is something that you also have to manage.”
Leslie: “Some player who has asked me about how I have lived my experience, some player who has wanted to be a mother, has also asked me about my own experience.”
For the North American, her farewell is part of one of the best moments experienced on a court. “It was a very nice night, when I think about my career as an athlete and how I finished it, the truth is that I feel very grateful, it is the icing on the cake. I think of other sports that do not have this recognition because they are a minority or less followed than mine and I think that I wish all athletes could have a farewell like the one I experienced,” explains the player.
Retirement
The CSD has started to work on an issue as fundamental for high-performance athletes as retirement. After not having contributed for years, many find themselves “I see this as very important.”
“We in the Endesa women’s league do contribute,” says Leslie. but I understand that there are many other sports that do not experience it like this”, in basketball you dedicate yourself almost all day, and continuing to train yourself in something else is very difficult, you do it very little by little. That this help exists seems like a small relief to me.”
Also the fact that motherhood does not interrupt the lives of athletes.
