Rafael Nadal's injuries and physical struggles throughout his career are well-known. However, it has now been revealed that he was not immune to physical struggles either.
Nadal retired from professional tennis at last month's Davis Cup Finals. The Spaniard lost his final match against Botic van de Zandschulp before the Netherlands eliminated Team Spain by winning the deciding doubles match.
In his retirement announcement before the Davis Cup Finals, Nadal said his body no longer being able to compete at the level needed to challenge for Grand Slams was the main reason he was stepping away from tennis.
Since winning a 14th and final French Open title in June 2022, Nadal has endured constant injury issues. The most severe of these was a hip injury that ruled him out for the entire 2023 season.
Nadal made comeback attempts this year, including appearances at the French Open and the Olympics. Unfortunately, the former ATP world No. 1 was nowhere near his past level throughout this season.
Toni Nadal, Rafael's uncle and former coach, revealed that his nephew had taken painkillers during practice sessions since the age of 18. Fans knew the 22-time Grand Slam champion suffered many injuries, but Toni's revelation showed those issues were worse than the public knew.
Nadal built a reputation as one of the mentally toughest athletes in sports history. His recovery from numerous injuries, which enabled him to win more Grand Slams and become one of the best tennis players ever is evidence of his unique mentality.
The legendary Spaniard endured physical and technical struggles at some stages of his career, but being unable to cope mentally on-court was not something Nadal appeared to struggle with often.
However, Nadal has revealed in a piece he wrote for The Players Tribune that he almost took a break from tennis a few years ago because of mental struggles but found a way to overcome that problem.
"I went through a very difficult moment, mentally, a few years ago. Physical pain I was very used to, but there were times on the court when I had trouble controlling my breathing, and I couldn’t play at the highest level. I don’t have trouble saying it now."
"After all, we are human beings, not superheroes. The person you see at center court with a trophy is a person. Exhausted, relieved, happy, thankful — but just a person."
"Thankfully, I didn’t get to the point of not being able to control things like anxiety, but there are moments with every player when it’s difficult to control your mind, and when that happens it’s difficult to have total control of your game."
"There were months when I thought about taking a complete break from tennis to cleanse my mind. In the end, I worked on it every day to get better. I conquered it by always moving forward, and I slowly became myself again. The thing that I’m most proud of is that I may have struggled, but I never quit. I always gave the maximum."
Having mental struggles is something no person should be ashamed of. Someone of Nadal's caliber experiencing them might make others see it is okay to reach out and get support if needed.
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