Rafael Nadal thought about taking a mental break from tennis a few years ago, but “he overcame it by constantly moving forward” and “slowly became himself again,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion wrote in an essay published online less than halfway through Tuesday. a year ago. a month after the last match of his career.
“I got used to the physical pain, but there were moments on the court when I had trouble controlling my breathing and couldn’t play at my highest level. Now I have no problem saying it. After all, we are humans, not superheroes,” Nadal continued Player’s Tribune.
“Luckily I didn’t get to the point where I couldn’t control things like anxiety, but with every player there are times when it’s hard to control your mind, and when that happens it’s hard to have total control over your game, – he said. “There were months when I thought about taking a complete break from tennis to clear my head. After all, I worked at it every day to get better. “
Nadal, 38, retired after playing for Spain in the Davis Cup in November, after two seasons riddled with injury problems that limited him to competing sparingly.
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In the essay, he described chronic pain in his left foot that first appeared when he was 17, and said he was told at the time that he would “probably never play professional tennis again.”
“I spent many days at home crying, but it was a great lesson in humility and I was lucky to have a father – who was a real influence on my life – who was always very positive,” said Nadal, who won a record 14 French Open championships.
He recalled being nervous before matches and some of the highlights of his career and noted, “I hope my legacy is that I always tried to treat others with deep respect. This was my parents’ golden rule.
