However, the 22-time Grand Slam winner has spoken about his struggles with the mental side of professional tennis during a recent interview with The Players’ Tribune..
Nadal has revealed that he struggled with the mental side of professional tennis during the latter stages of his illustrious career. The 22-time Grand Slam winner retired following Spain’s Davis Cup Finals defeat against the Netherlands in November, having battled through a number of injuries during his time in the sport.
However, Nadal insisted that he found dealing with the mental strain of competitive sport more challenging than the physical pain.
What Nadal told Player’s Tribune?
“I went through a very difficult moment mentally a few years ago,” he told said.
“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 centre 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 is difficult to control your mind. When that happens it is difficult to have total control of your game.
“There were moments with every player when it is 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.”
Rafeal Nadal called time on his illustrious career following Spain’s Davis Cup Finals loss to the Netherlands in Nvemeber.
