Rafael Nadal Reveals He Hasn't Played Tennis Since Retirement
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While some athletes make a comeback shortly after their retirement, that certainly won't be the case for Rafael Nadal. He hasn't touched his racket since the day he retired.
For over two decades, tennis was an irreplaceable part of Nadal's every day. All of his life was centered around tennis, whether it was nutrition, sleep schedule, or anything else.
As one of the greatest tennis players of all time, he had to be obsessed with the sport to a certain degree, but after his retirement, Nadal hasn't played at all.
The 38-year-old Spaniard retired from the sport at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. Because of his physical struggles, the end of his career was something that Nadal also maybe looked forward to.
Since his retirement, the 22-time Grand Slam champion hasn't appeared a lot in public, either, but he recently conducted a long-ranging interview for the Spanish Olympic Committee on Movistar, as per Puntodebreak.
In the interview, Nadal admitted that he set new goals after his retirement, but also that he hasn't touched his racket since the day he retired. On the other hand, he started playing football more, which he enjoys.
"For now, I'm always busy doing things, which I believe is how it should be. In life, it's very important to have goals; if you don't, you might end up getting bored. I'm a person who needs to have things to do, I like it."
"It's a time to organize this new stage, and that's what we're doing. It's recent, it has been three months since I stopped playing, but so far, I have adapted well. I have played less sports than I would have liked."
"I have returned to playing soccer, which brings me joy. I haven't picked up a racket again, it needs its time. When I stopped playing, I had a foot injury for a month, I was in bad shape."
During the interview, Nadal also admitted that he retired from the sport because of his injury struggles, which didn't allow him to play continuously.
While he hasn't played since retiring, the 14-time French Open champion has no doubt that he will once return to the tennis courts again. However, he believes that after ending his career, he needs some time to "disconnect."
"I lost a bit of rhythm there; otherwise, I would have continued playing. I lost track a bit, but at some point, I will pick it up again without a doubt. As with everything, when you finish a stage, you need a moment of disconnection, and that's what I'm doing."
It won't take long before fans will start thinking about Nadal's possible exhibition matches. Before they both retired, Nadal and Roger Federer hinted at a possible exhibition tour, and fans certainly didn't forget about that.
