Rafael Nadal Insists He Is '100% At Peace' With Being Retired

Saturday, 28 December 2024 at 03:35

byJordan Reynolds

Rafael Nadal's retirement was among the most emotional moments of 2024, and the Spaniard has outlined why he is at peace with no longer being a professional player.

Nadal retired at last month's Davis Cup Finals. Many had expected him to retire at the French Open for years because of his unprecedented success at Roland Garros, where he won 14 titles in the Grand Slam held in Paris.

However, after trying to return from severe injury problems for two years, the Spanish legend realized he could no longer challenge for Grand Slams. Therefore, he thought of retiring on home soil in Malaga at the Davis Cup Finals.

Team Spain played the Netherlands in the quarterfinal. The presence of Carlos Alcaraz on the Spanish team meant it was a significant favorite to reach the semifinals and move a step closer to winning the event.

What turned out to be Nadal's final professional match ended in a heartbreaking defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp. Alcaraz won the other singles contest, but Wesley Koolhof and Botic van de Zandschulp won the deciding doubles to eliminate Team Spain.

Nadal's retirement ceremony caused controversy, with many believing it was underwhelming relative to what the 38-year-old achieved. His coach, Carlos Moya, was among those who felt it was shabby.

Spanish Davis Cup captain David Ferrer was disappointed that Nadal's great rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic did not attend the retirement ceremony and thought it watered down the celebration of one of tennis' biggest legends.

What Nadal will do next as a retired player is unclear, but there are some indications. At the start of 2024, the 22-time Grand Slam champion became an ambassador to the Saudi Tennis Federation, which caused controversy due to the country's human rights record.

Nadal has addressed that criticism. He understands why many fans have concerns but insists it is better to engage with countries to bring change rather than being isolationist, even though the Spaniard is undoubtedly being paid millions to be an ambassador.

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Speaking to The National, Nadal described how important it was to be ready for retirement and why he feels comfortable and at peace with stepping away from professional tennis after so much excitement.

"I was ready for it. It’s important I was 100 per cent ready. The last year and a half have been very tough in terms of not being able to practise and compete on a regular basis and to the standard that I am used to. So I tried my best until the last day."

"I just did the surgery in my hip to try to keep going but it simply didn’t work as good as I needed it to be to keep going. But I’m 100 per cent at peace with myself that I tried my best until the last day, to have success, and to stay with calm with myself that I did all I could do to be very well satisfied with myself."

“At the end of the day, things that you cannot control, you cannot control. You can be sad, you can be angry, but at the end life continues and it’s about trying always to be happy, accepting what you have in every single moment."