Rafael Nadal doesn’t miss tennis at all after emotional retirement last year

Rafael Nadal hung up his racket at the Davis Cup after Spain's 2-1 defeat against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

Rafael Nadal doesn’t miss tennis at all after emotional retirement last year

Rafael Nadal (Image via X/The Globe and Mail)

Rafael Nadal ended the most remarkable chapter of his life at the Davis Cup after Spain lost the quarterfinal tie against the Netherlands. It was fitness problems that forced him to retire as after the hip injury he suffered at the 2023 Australian Open, Nadal missed the rest of the year.

Nadal, although he played in the Brisbane International the following year, another injury forced him to miss a few more tournaments before he made his much-awaited comeback on the clay swing. He played in the Barcelona Open and a few more clay-court, including the Paris Olympics and the French Open where the King of Clay unsurprisingly fell in straight sets to current World No.2 Alexander Zverev.

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After his retirement, the winner of the 22 Grand Slam titles received the Sporting Icon award at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid on Monday (April 21). He told reporters later that he doesn’t miss playing tennis because he was convinced that his body could no longer deal with the grind of tennis.

I don’t miss it, honestly, I miss it zero. Not because I ended up tired or struggling with tennis, not at all. I ended up happy and if I could have I would have continued playing, tennis has made me happy all my life. When you realize that you can’t, you try to close the stage, and I have closed it.

Rafael Nadal said

Nadal received the Laureus award for the fifth time in his career. Back in 2005, he was awarded with the Newcomer of the Year award, following which he won the Sportsman of the Year in 2011 and 2021. In 2014, he was given the Comeback of the Year award.

Rafael Nadal backs Carlos Alcaraz to win the 2025 Madrid Open

The qualifying rounds of the Madrid Open are underway at Caja Magica, while the main draw of the Men’s event is scheduled to start on April 23. Rafael Nadal is the tournament’s most successful player, having won five titles. After receiving the Laureus award, Nadal backed Carlos Alcaraz to win the tournament in the Spanish capital.

Carlos Alcaraz Barcelona Open 2025
Carlos Alcaraz (via Instagram/ Carlos Alcaraz)

Well, if Carlos is doing well, I think he’s always the favorite.

Rafael Nadal told reporters

Alcaraz also attended the event and when asked if he will play in the home tournament after injuring his right leg, he confirmed that nothing serious happened; that the niggle perhaps was the result of continuous playing without rest. The 21-year-old injured his abductor muscle during the Barcelona Open final against Holger Rune.

Alcaraz is the winner of two Madrid Open titles, lifting the trophies in 2022 and 2023; but was defeated by eventual winner Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals last year. It was also his first tournament of the clay swing last year as he skipped the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open due to an injury.

The Spaniard will enter the tournament on the back of a final run in Barcelona where he was denied his third title by Rune, who ended his trophy drought by lifting his first title since the 2023 BMW Open. Alcaraz will be searching for his third title of the season as he so far lifted the Rotterdam Open and his first Monte Carlo Masters title.

In his first match, he will face the winner of the first-round match between Zizou Bergs and Yoshihito Nishioka. If Alcaraz reaches the semifinal, he could set up a blockbuster clash with three-time Madrid Open champion Novak Djokovic, who will be playing in the tournament for the first time in three years. The four-time Grand Slam champion is projected to meet Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals.