Rafael Nadal is trending in the tennis world as he recovers from his lengthy injury setback. A few days back, he confirmed his return date after being out of action for almost a year. The Spanish tennis legend said that he’ll make a comeback in Brisbane ahead of the Australian Open. As he gets set to return to the court, Nadal recently made a candid confession.

The former World Number 1 is clearly past his best and with age not by his side, retirement is looming on the Spaniard’s illustrious career. Here’s what he said about his future.

Rafael Nadal makes an honest revelation

Minutes ago, a video went viral on Twitter in which Nadal hinted about retirement. He said, “I expect from myself not to expect anything. This is the truth. To have the ability not to demand myself what I have demanded myself throughout my career. I believe I’m in a different moment, in a different situation, and in an unexplored terrain. I have internalized what I have had throughout my life, which is to demand myself the maximum.”

Further, he went on to add, “And right now what I really hope is to be able to not to do that, not to demand me the maximum, to accept that things are going to be very difficult at the beginning and to give myself the necessary time and forgive myself if things go wrong at the beginning, which is a very big possibility.”

The absence has hit Nadal hard this year. He hasn’t played since the 2023 Australian Open as he recovered from serious injuries. As a result, his rival, Novak Djokovic, raced ahead of him in the list of most Grand Slam titles in men’s singles.

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While Nadal has 22 major titles to his name, Djokovic has won 24 Grand Slam titles. Although Nadal has made his fans happy with his comeback announcement, a harsh reality check hit him ahead of his return.

Rafael Nadal on overcoming Djokovic’s record

The GOAT debate is always the talk of the town in tennis and the number of Grand Slam titles won is a major factor in deciding it. While Nadal would’ve liked to become a front-runner in this race, age is not by his side as he made a saddening revelation.

Talking about this, he said, “I won’t win more Majors than Djokovic, but I will be back to compete. I hope to tell you more in the coming weeks.”

Meanwhile, Djokovic will try to continue his brilliant form next year like he did this season by winning 3 major titles. On the other hand, Rafael Nadal will slowly and steadily try to find his best. All in all, it promises to be a thrilling season ahead.

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