Rafael Nadal retired from professional tennis with his body completely finished from decades of physical wear, admitting in a recent interview that he barely misses the sport and has nearly forgotten his playing days.
Years after hanging up his racket, the 22-time Grand Slam champion reflected on the end of his career in an interview with The Athletic. Nadal explained that constant physical limitations and a body that could no longer sustain high-level competition brought a natural, peaceful close to his storied career.
“I don’t miss tennis too much, because I decided to retire at the right time,” Nadal said. “I had nothing more to give. My body was finished, to be honest. I played with too many limitations, so that allowed me to finish my career in peace.”
The Physical Toll Behind Twenty-Two Major Titles
The path to 92 career titles and 209 weeks at world number one came at an immense physical cost. Nadal acknowledged that he lived through a daily cycle of severe pain throughout his more than two decades on the ATP Tour, noting that the wear and tear left him struggling just to walk for a full month during his later years.
Nadal suffered through continuous physical setbacks that made his day-to-day existence grueling, though he maintained that the constant adversity taught him to cherish his victories even more deeply. “The only positive thing I’ve taken from all the injuries is that I was able to enjoy more and give more value to the big moments,” Nadal said. “But I lived my whole tennis career with pain. In my day-to-day, I suffered too much.”
The turning point for his retirement arrived in July 2024 at the Nordea Open in Bastad, Sweden. As detailed in the Netflix documentary series Rafa and reported by Diario de Mallorca, Nadal reached the final before losing to Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6–3, 6–2 on clay. His wife, Mery Perelló, recalled in the documentary that Nadal retreated to the locker room restroom in distress after realizing he could no longer perform at his own standards, telling her plainly, “I have to retire.”
Despite that emotional collapse, Nadal pushed forward for a final summer, representing Spain at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games alongside Carlos Alcaraz before his official farewell on November 19, 2024, against Botic van de Zandschulp in Málaga.
Life Outside Professional Competition
Today, the 40-year-old Mallorcan splits his time between parenting his children, managing his tennis academy, running his charitable foundation, and launching new business ventures. Marca reported that Nadal released a photographic book titled Rafa Nadal with the French publishing house Assouline, featuring previously unpublished images from his career.
“I retired only two years ago, but it already feels like another life since I played tennis,” Nadal told The Athletic, as highlighted by Mundo Deportivo. “I almost forget that I was a tennis player. Life goes on.”
In addition to his educational and philanthropic commitments, Nadal has entered the viticulture sector. He partnered with Viñas Familia Gil in Jumilla, Murcia, to launch a new wine brand named El Tenista.
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