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On June 5, 2022, Rafael Nadal entered a little more into the legend of tennis and the Roland-Garros tournament. The Spaniard was crowned for the 14th time in his career on clay in Paris by beating the Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final. At 36, and despite pain in his left foot due to Müller-Weiss syndrome, Rafa is still present. ” Arrest is not in his software “Explains to us, Éric Mamruth, journalist in the sports department of RFI.
In this episode of News cookiesÉric Mamruth begins by explaining that Rafael Nadal was not the favorite of this Roland-Garros tournament. It hasn’t been an easy year for him, especially the last three months. He had played only five matches before arriving in Paris, with two defeats, including that of Rome. During the match, he was seen grimacing, staggering, then limping. We had never seen it like this ».
Rafael Nadal has always suffered from Müller-Weiss syndrome. A chronic and incurable disease that gnaws at the bone of his left foot, but the Spaniard is starting the competition well: “ At the start of the tournamentexplains Eric, there was no sign of pain. He gave us a hint very quickly, in a press conference, in the middle of a sentence he said he was sure he wouldn’t be in pain during the fortnight. In fact, with his doctor, they had set up a protocol, with injections of painkillers before each game. A protocol that he only revealed after the final. His left foot was then totally asleep and this allowed him to play without pain. ».
Play at all costs
« The objective of his life is to play tennis, to continue and that it never stops. It’s software he’s had in his head from the start. Everything is programmed, once he wins a tournament, he returns to zero each time and the process starts again. If his physique allows him to play until he is 50, he will ».
From his first tournaments, Rafael Nadal impressed. ” In 2004, he already played in the Davis Cup for the Spanish team. He is 17 years old. The country wins the cup and we say to ourselves, well, it is very very good. The following year, the first Roland-Garros, he won it. So, there are players who have won a Grand Slam tournament on their first attempt, like Boris Becker at Wimbledon in 1985, but it’s very, very rare ».
Éric Mamruth also enlightens us on the rituals of Rafael Nadal. Especially before serving, but also when changing sides where he meticulously aligns his two bottles of water: ” It’s part of the software. He explains that it helps him to concentrate, to think of nothing but his tennis. It’s not superstition. There should be no grain of sand in the machine, otherwise it may cause it to derail ».
At 36, and with his illness, will Rafael Nadal soon stop? “ His program does not provide for the stop for the moment, but he can clearly see that without the injections, it becomes difficult to play or in any case to compete with the best. His doctors are going to try a new treatment. If it works, he will continue, but if not, he will have his plans, but it will be very complicated for him, because he has never experienced anything else until then ».
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