This year, after facing a lot of injuries, the 22 time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal, has clearly talked about his retirement. But there was a time in the initial stage of his professional career when he thought he would retire at a younger age. 

Other than dealing with injuries, the Spaniard has had a solid year. At the start of the year, he won both the Australian Open and the French Open. And endured a setback as a result of his abdominal injuries.

Young Rafael Nadal thought about retiring at the age of 19

The tennis ace in his book, Rafa: My Story, talked about his early career route, when he thought about the end of his tennis career. At the age of 19, the young Spaniard faced a problem called tarsal scaphoid; a problem he wasn’t remotely aware of. While describing the problem. Nadal wrote, “A bone I’d never even known existed turned out to be my own unique version of the potentially destructive.” 

However, after discovering the problem and consulting his foot specialist, the former world number one thought that he will never be able to play competitive tennis again. He wrote, “I might be obliged to retire, at the age of nineteen, from the game in which I had invested my life’s dreams. I broke down and wept; we all wept.”

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The former world number one thought that his life was crumbling in front of him and was feeling helpless in the situation. However, he didn’t lose hope and came back to the tennis court stronger and today; he is stands as one of the top tennis players in the world.

When will Nadal play his next tournament?

After a defeat at the US Open, the former world number one was not sure about his comeback. But seeing him play doubles at the Laver Cup, gave tennis fans hopes about seeing him again on the court. 

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The 22 times Grand Slam champion is all set to play in an exhibition tour that will take place in South America. He took to his Instagram account to share this news with the tennis sensation, Casper Ruud, giving him a list of opportunities to defeat the Australian Open champion. The 23-year-old will be playing against the Spaniard and is intended to win a revenge match. The tour will commence on 23rd November and the first clash will take place at Buenos Aires.

Tennis fans are excited to see the Spaniard back on court. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comment section below.