Rafael Nadal adjusts his cap during practise
Rafael Nadal has refused to rule out taking up a coaching role in retirement, saying he would “never say never” to that as a potential pathway.
Nadal retired at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga last month, ending a two-decade-long career as Spain lost to the Netherlands in their quarter-final encounter.
The 38-year-old is one of the most decorated players in tennis history, winning 22 Grand Slam singles titles and spending 209 weeks as the ATP world No 1.
The Spaniard has not revealed any set plans for his life post-retirement, with many intrigued as to what moves he could make in future.
This past week Nadal was in Jeddah, spending time at the Next Gen ATP Finals and offering advice to the rising stars in action at the event.
Many have pondered whether he would consider becoming a tennis ‘super coach’ in the future, joining an array of former world No 1’s who returned to the sport in a coaching capacity.
And, speaking in Jeddah, the 14-time French Open winner refused to discount the possibility,
“You never say never,” said Nadal, in quotes reported by Arab News.
“Today it’s too early to think about this kind of stuff. I just need to organize my life. Now I don’t see myself in any project like this, but I don’t know how life is going to be in one, two, three years.”
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One certain thing is that Nadal’s career and retirement will be profiled in a highly-publicised Netflix documentary set to be released in 2025.
And even the Spaniard admits he is “excited” to see what will be explored in the documentary.
He added: “I think it’s going to be something interesting, that people are going to know more about my personal life, my daily life trying to come back.
“And of course, they’re going to know more about my career, even if it’s very well known around, but to know a little bit more from inside, something that has never been talked about before.
“So I’m excited to see the final result, we have been working very hard.
“I always have been a little bit against doing this stuff but a great team like Skydance team and David Ellison called me and presented to me the project and at the end it was a fast decision and it was a big help of the family, the team, the tournaments, the rest of the players accepting that, and I am sure, and I hope that the people will like it.”
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