There aren’t many records that Rafael Nadal hasn’t broken. By winning almost everything on offer, Nadal has etched his name in the history of tennis as one of the greatest players of all time. However, not many are aware that the 22-time Grand Slam champion had his own share of battles to fight to reach where he is today.
It was after his retirement announcement that his uncle and ex-coach Toni Nadal revealed that the Spaniard had to suffer through physical pain for almost his entire career. He added that ever since 2005, 19 years ago, Rafa could not complete any practice session or compete in a Grand Slam match without taking painkillers.
It was largely because of the tennis star’s diagnosis with Mueller-Weiss syndrome at the age of 19. This caused immense pain in his foot, making it difficult for him to play tennis.
“Rafael got used to playing with pain, but I told his father that if we had retired every time he had problems he could have taken away five or six Grand Slam titles,” Toni Nadal told the Spanish publication Marca.
But as informed by Toni, the Spaniard developed a habit of playing with pain and still managed to secure an astonishing number of 22 Grand Slam titles.
“Since 2005, he has been practically incapable of finishing a training session, incapable of playing a Grand Slam match without taking painkillers. The problem he had is that he got used to playing with pain and saw that most of the time he came out stronger.”
The tennis legend’s uncle also described how the 2012 Australian Open final was the most disheartening match of his career. Rafa lost the contest to Novak Djokovic 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7, 7–5 despite giving his all in the final two sets.
It was Toni who inspired Rafa to take up the sport, though Rafa initially despised training under him.
Rafa thanks his uncle Toni Nadal
However, after being convinced by his parents, Nadal continued with him, and the results of their partnership are nothing short of legendary.
Rafa also thanked his uncle in his retirement announcement video, as he said,
“My uncle, who is the reason I started playing tennis. I believe that thanks to him, I have also been able to overcome many situations that have been difficult in my sporting career.”
Rafa’s retirement indeed hit the tennis world with a wave of emotions as the fans realized that the King of Clay would no longer play on the Roland Garros court or any competitive tennis court after next month’s Davis Cup.
