WATCH: “To be back at 37 years old knowing you will not be healthy enough,” Rafael Nadal discloses how seriously he considered retirement in 2023

Rafael Nadal opens up about his dark phase in an interview after his first doubles loss of the season.

WATCH: “To be back at 37 years old knowing you will not be healthy enough,” Rafael Nadal discloses how seriously he considered retirement in 2023

Rafael Nadal (Via France 24)

To the delight of the fans, the iconic Spanish player Rafael Nadal will make an appearance on the court in Brisbane to play his first tournament after a year. 

Due to recurring injuries, the 37-year-old was out of the sport, and in recent times, he has shared the difficulties he faced during those times, even considering retirement. He further elaborated on this thought in a recent press meeting in Brisbane.

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The ‘king of clay’ reveals that whenever he felt low, he did consider retirement, given the effort required to get back on the court at the age of 37. At the age of 35 and above, athletes tend to put more effort into themselves to continue playing, which involves a whole different diet plan and more recovery time during games.

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Keeping all this in mind, Nadal contemplated retirement but ultimately trashed the thought and focused on a comeback.

Of course yes. I had to went through a lot of things to be back so sometimes in the low moments it's 100% human that you’ll put yourself in a position to say, okay, makes sense cause all the things I had to do to be back at 37 years old knowing that you will be back and you will not be healthy enough to compete that way you wanted to compete. Something that of course I was asking to myself, but at some point, I decided to keep going.
Said Rafael Nadal to the Brisbane Press.

Rafa will return to the Brisbane International, where he is set to play his first match against a very familiar Dominic Thiem, who is also looking to do better this year. Long-time players face off yet again to entertain the fans and gain some confidence heading into the Australian Open. 989

Rafael Nadal reveals that rather enjoy his comeback than win Grand Slams

After a not-so-favorable comeback, Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal took to the press to discuss his comeback and retirement. The 37-year-old was outplayed in his doubles match and lost 6-4, 6-4, to the Australian duo of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson. 

During the post-match interview, he opened up about his retirement thoughts and what he expects in the upcoming year.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Via Tennis365)

While the tennis community expects to see the Spaniard with some trophies, he thinks otherwise. The 22-time Grand Slam title champion revealed being focused on the present without any thought about the future. 

He discloses that it is impossible to think about winning the tournament, but it is possible to enjoy the comeback. He doesn’t expect much due to his long time off the court. 

While he may have had a forgettable start to the doubles leg of the tournament, his much-awaited singles return is not far behind. With a whole year ahead of him, the fans look forward to their idol participating in all the tournaments. 

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