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PARIS, FRANCE June 11. Rafael Nadal of Spain acknowledges the fans as he leaves the court after his loss to Novak Djokovic of Serbia on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the semi finals of the singles competition at the 2021 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on June 11th 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
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PARIS, FRANCE June 11. Rafael Nadal of Spain acknowledges the fans as he leaves the court after his loss to Novak Djokovic of Serbia on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the semi finals of the singles competition at the 2021 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on June 11th 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Over the years, Rafael Nadal has been a key force in the men’s game. The 13-time French Open champion has been around for many years and has earned extraordinary success. However, the fact that Rafa has been around for so long unfortunately means that the day when he walks away from the game for good is also inching closer. He recently spoke about his retirement plans.
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The player from Mallorca was quite blunt and honest about this sensitive topic. Rafael Nadal realistically revealed that the day he doesn’t feel that he can cope physically and mentally, he would bid goodbye to the sport.
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He recently spoke on this subject and stated, “I try not to think about my age. I will retire if I don’t feel fresh physically and mentally. I also realize right now how much I love tennis and that I have a real privilege to be able to play it for so long.”
(Quotes translated from Spanish using Google translate)
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Rafael Nadal intends to compete for the biggest titles
However, at the moment, Rafa relishes the opportunity to compete against the top players for some of the biggest honors in the game. It is a real privilege for him to have competed at an elite level for all these years. He surely has been one of the best ambassadors for this game due to his professionalism and grit.
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PARIS, FRANCE – MAY 29: Rafael Nadal of Spain with his coach Carlos Moya as he trains in preparation for the 2021 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on May 29th 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Coming to tennis, Nadal was last seen competing in the American capital, Washington, in a tournament held prior to the US Open. However, he was unable to go deep into the event as he was yet not feeling fully fit. Following that, he came back home to assess his foot injury.
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“J’essaie de ne pas penser à mon ge. Je prendrai ma retraite si je ne me sens pas frais physiquement et mentalement. Je me rends compte aussi en ce moment à quel point j’aime le tennis et que j’ai un vrai privilège de pouvoir y jouer aussi longtemps.”
— We Are Tennis France (@WeAreTennisFR) October 19, 2021
Rafael Nadal pic.twitter.com/l6I4sagplP
He was forced to end his season early, and we hope to see the Spaniard recover fully and return to his winning ways. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the upcoming 2022 season.
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