Rafael Nadal has shed light on the reality of retirement three months after ending his career at the Davis Cup.
The former world No. 1 has made few public appearances since hanging up his racket in November, but he picked up an award on Monday and shared an update on life after tennis.
Despite becoming one of the greats of the sport, Nadal made a heartbreaking admission as he explained how difficult the last few years of his career were.
Nadal picked up the Extraordinary Trophy at Mundo Deportivo’s 77th annual Grand Gala on Monday night as the Spanish media outlet paid tribute to his glittering career.
It was a rare outing for the 38-year-old, who has limited his time in the public eye since retiring at last year’s Davis Cup Finals. As he accepted the award, Nadal confessed he already felt out of practice.
“Since I retired a few months ago, I’ve been a little out of this world for a while,” he said.
“I’m happy. I feel happy to share this day with all of you, at this Gala surrounded by athletes.”
The 22-time Grand Slam champion also explained how retirement felt, admitting it was easy to move on given how tough the end of his career was.
Asked how he was coping, Nadal replied: “On a personal level I am happy and on the other hand, I am trying to adapt to what is a new facet of my life that, for the moment, I am coping very well.
“At the moment I do not miss the day to day, I am fine as I am. In the end, the last few years were difficult, that also helps me not to miss it so much. I retired three months ago, I cannot say it with total clarity but at the moment I am fine.”
The Spaniard spent the better part of two years sidelined by injuries before deciding to call it quits, announcing his retirement plans last October and ending his career a few weeks later.
Nadal dealt with multiple issues in the 2022 season, despite starting the year by winning two Grand Slam titles. He then shut down his 2023 season in January and played a very limited schedule in 2024 before returning.
While the end of his career was wrecked by physical issues, the former No. 1 has good news – he is no longer in pain.
Nadal added: “Now I’m in very little pain, I’m not really pushing myself too hard. Now I’m able to live with very little pain and that’s very important for me.
“In the end, getting up and going down the stairs normally is a very important step forward for me in my daily life, being able to live with the peace of mind of not having much pain.”