“I Am Still Fighting for the Most Important Things” – Rafael Nadal

While the whole tennis world is in disarray, Rafael Nadal is trying his level best to be at his prime whenever the season resumes. Nadal is currently living in Mallorca with his family and even celebrated his 34th birthday with his family and close friends in his hometown.

Tennis being disrupted has altered a lot of players’ training regimes. Nadal in an interview with Argentina’s Jose Luis Clerc at ESPN explained his training methods during the lockdown. With the scare of an injury, Nadal is slowly returning to his full intensity. Although the situation in Mallorca is not that critical, Nadal is proceeding with caution and planning his training regime carefully.

“The situation in Mallorca has not been as complicated as in large cities and the family has been well. I have returned to play tennis but very slowly. Between 45 minutes and an hour and a half and some days without training, always avoiding risks of injury.” said Rafael Nadal.

With the clay season postponed, it’s been hard even for an elite player like Nadal. With no tournaments in the near future, it’s hard to find motivation and set goals. But the big players always find their inner energy and can channel it in the toughest of times like these. 

What is keeping Rafael Nadal motivated?

Nadal’s only motivation is to improve. Being 34, Nadal still wants to thrive and prolong his career at the highest level, winning slams and the major tournaments. Nadal has had to deal with injuries for a long time. His playing still and aggression, unfortunately, attracts injuries, but it has never put him down.

“Training without goals is boring. One has to look for motivations. I wanted to continue improving. I had injuries but I never lost motivation. At almost 34 years old, I am still fighting for the most important things and I did not imagine it.” said Nadal

Nadal has one of the most intense training regimes. Excelling on the clay courts, he has always pushed to succeed on other surfaces as well. And he did prove he can play well on the grass by beating Roger Federer in the gruesome 2008 Wimbledon Final. And from then on raked up 19 Grand slams.

Read More: Roger Federer Remembers Wimbledon 2008 Final: “I Was the Loser Both Times”

Nadal is a winner, and it will be interesting to see how well he does when he returns. With clay court pending, Nadal’s season could take a healthy turn around and he would want to go past Federer’s grand slam tally.