Rafael Nadal Looks Back On Retirement With ‘Great Satisfaction’ as he Enjoys Life Beyond Tennis

Rafael Nadal gets a deserving farewell ceremony at the French Open after winning 14 Roland Garros titles and 112 matches on the red dirt.

Rafael Nadal Looks Back On Retirement With ‘Great Satisfaction’ as he Enjoys Life Beyond Tennis

Rafael Nadal (via X)

Rafael Nadal was handed one of the best farewell ceremonies at the Roland Garros on Sunday (May 25) to celebrate his mind-blowing achievement at the tournament. The Spaniard, who played his last match at the French Open last year, was reunited with his rivals Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Nadal is considered one of the greatest clay-court players of all time having singularly won 14 Roland Garros, first at age 18 in 2005 and last at age 36 in 2022. The Spaniard also holds an almost perfect 112-4 French Open record. Bjorn Borg, the player who is second in the list of the highest number of French Open just has six.

However, in November last year, Nadal ended his two decades career as a professional tennis player at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. The former World No.1 lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in his last match, which led to Spain crashing out of the competition in the quarter-finals. But he also ended his career having won 92 career titles, including 22 Grand Slams, an Olympic gold medal, and a Career Golden Slam.

Having retired from the sport, Nadal now spends his time with his family – his wife and 2-year-old son – and business ventures, including the Rafael Nadal Academy, a hotel company, and a nutritional supplement company. He revealed during his press conference at the Roland Garros that he doesn’t miss tennis.

It’s not that I don’t miss tennis and it’s not that I got tired of tennis. But there came a point where my body couldn’t take it anymore and wouldn’t allow me to continue doing what I had been doing all these years. So when the day of my retirement came, I closed a chapter in my life. I’m not a person with a big ego that needs these kinds of tributes, which I loved and was perfect. I live well in the day-to-day and in anonymity, and that’s why I have always lived in my home.

Nadal, who has always been in competition with the likes of Federer, Djokovic, and Murray for over a decade on the court, now finds himself happy to be away from it. He added that losing tournaments, especially clay-court tournaments does hurt him like when he was a player.

I always had a life beyond tennis that fulfilled me, and I had the intuition that when the day of my retirement came, the transition would be smooth. It’s real, I’m fine, I’m happy, and enjoying other things. I still watch tennis, and it doesn’t hurt me to see Rome, Monte Carlo, and Roland Garros. It’s a book that closed with great satisfaction. If Novak wins Roland Garros, it won’t bother me one bit, something that in the past I would have preferred not to happen.

Nadal got emotional during the ceremony as the crowd in the Court Philippe-Chatrier wore a rusted-colored T-shirt identical to the red dirt. He also had his footprint forever etched on the court.

Rafael Nadal opens up about his son following his footsteps

Rafael Nadal’s achievements in tennis will take generations for it to be reached. He is the greatest player from Spain. However, his uncle, Toni Nadal, played an important role in nurturing his career as a child to winning 16 Grand Slams, 10 of which were at the Roland Garros. During the aforementioned interview, he was asked if he would love his 2-year-old son to follow in his footsteps.

Rafael Nadal and his son
Rafael Nadal and his son (via X/Carlos Navarro)

If my son lives the tennis career the way that I lived, of course, yes, because as you mentioned about sacrifices, about all the things that you lost to become professional, but I never had that feeling that I did a lot of sacrifices. I never had the feeling that I lost a part of my life to become professional.

Nadal described his uncle as a mentor, while tennis legend Mats Wilander hailed him as the coach of the century. The 64-year-old went on to coach only Felix Auger-Aliassime after his spell with Nadal, from 2021 to 2024, with their biggest Grand Slam performance being a run to the 2021 US Open semi-finals.

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