Rafael Nadal has revealed that he is not "scared" about the prospect of hanging up his racket for good in a plain-spoken interview ahead of his return to singles competition.
Nadal was out of action for the entire 2023 campaign except for a few matches he played at the Australian swing last season. At last year's Australian Open, he hurt his hip and had to undergo surgery in the middle of the season.
Unfortunately for the Spaniard, the nature of the injury and the lengthy recovery process meant he was unlikely to play any part in the remainder of the season. Nadal also made the shocking announcement that he would play the final season of his career in 2024.
When he uttered that statement, it was during that sentimental press conference on the eve of the 2023 Roland Garros, where Nadal missed the clay Slam for the first time since his debut in 2005. But Nadal has been impressed with his post-injury level and has spoken about prolonging his career beyond 2024.
While he has maintained that there is a strong chance 2024 will be his final year on the professional circuit simply because he cannot tell with certainty how his body will respond to the physical demands of the tour, he is not frightened by the reality of eventually retiring from tennis as revealed on BBC.
"I am not the guy that my life was only tennis. I think that helps a lot. I have a lot of things outside of tennis that makes me happy. I have a lot of projects that are going to make me feel active, and going to motivate me to explore different things."
"But, of course, when you change something in your life - anything - it's a process that you need to adapt. Things are not easy when you stop doing a thing that you have been doing for almost all your life. But I'm not scared about that."
Nadal is set to play his first singles match in a year at the Brisbane International against Dominic Thiem on Tuesday evening. While he is fearless about retirement, he understands that it will be a season of adaptation, but he hopes to put himself in a position to challenge for major titles.
"Even if I know that everything is almost impossible after all the things that I went through, my age and all the things my body has - if inside myself I don't have the feeling and the motivation or the hope that I can keep fighting for something that really motivates me, probably I will not prepare the season the way that I am."
"I try to put myself in a position that in a few months I will be ready to compete for the things that I want to compete."
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