I don't miss tennis, retired former number one Rafael Nadal says
Nadal is fondly referred to as the king of clay for a reason.
It seems life outside the Tennis court is paying dividends for former World number one Rafael Nadal.
Nadal has insisted that he doesn't "miss tennis" after being honoured with a Sporting Icon award at the Laureus World Sport Awards in Madrid.
The 38-year-old Spaniard, winner of 22 Grand Slam trophies, including 14 at Roland Garros on Clay, retired from the sport after his final match at the Davis Cup in Malaga in November 2024.
He says, though, that the rigours of playing tennis at the highest level have caught up with his body.
"The truth is that I don't miss tennis. Zero. I don't miss it at all," Nadal told reporters.
"But not because I finished tired of tennis or fighting against tennis, not at all."
"I finished my career happy, and if I could have, I would have carried on, because I loved what I was doing. It was my passion, and that's been the case all my life. It's just that when you realise that physically you can't do it anymore, you try to close that chapter. And I closed it," he added.
Nadal suffered numerous injuries during his career, but resisted retiring as long as possible despite his body obviously struggling to get going until it could not any more.
"I delayed making my final decision because I needed time to be sure it was the right one. What would have been hard was sitting on my sofa, wondering if I should keep trying to play," said Nadal.
"When I saw that my body wasn't going to recover to the level I needed to continue enjoying myself on court, then I made the decision to stop. That's why I don't miss it. Because I finished with the peace of mind of knowing that I'd given it my all, and that my body couldn't give any more."
Nadal is fondly referred to as the king of clay for a reason.
He is the only player to win four Grand Slam titles without dropping a set (2008, 2010, 2017, and 2020 French Opens), surpassing the prior record of three held by Björn Borg.
He is also the first player, male or female, to win 100 matches at the French Open and holds the all-time record for the most match wins at a single major, with 112 at the French Open.