‘I don’t miss tennis because my body couldn’t give any more’: Rafael Nadal after Laureus Awards 2025 win | Tennis News
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal said that he did not miss his time on the court shortly after he was honoured with the prestigious Sporting Icon honour at the Laureus World Sports Award in Madrid on Monday.
The Spaniard had hung up his boots last November after a Davis Cup tie in Malaga.
“The truth is that I don’t miss tennis. Zero. I don’t miss it at all,” the 22-time Grand Slam winner told reporters.
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“But not because I finished tired of tennis or fighting against tennis, not at all. I finished my career happy, and if I could have, I would have carried on, because I loved what I was doing. It was my passion, and that’s been the case all my life. It’s just that when you realise that physically you can’t do it any more… you try to close that chapter. And I closed it,” he added.
Marred a series of injuries, Nadal said he prolonged his career as much as possible resing the urge to retire.
“I delayed making my final decision because I needed time to be sure it was the right one. What would have been hard was sitting on my sofa wondering if I should keep trying to play. When I saw that my body wasn’t going to recover to the level I needed to continue enjoying myself on court, then I made the decision to stop,” the Spaniard said.
“That’s why I don’t miss it. Because I finished with the peace of mind of knowing that I’d given it my all, and that my body couldn’t give any more,” Nadal added.
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