After Spain’s defeat at the Davis Cup, Rafael Nadal has officially retired from tennis. However, fans haven’t seen the last of the Spaniard just yet, as reports say he is set to get back to competition in a handful of days, this time on a golf course instead of a tennis court.
Nadal led an incredible career as a tennis player and has cemented his status as one of the greats of the sport. He turned pro in 2001 at the age of fourteen and won his first Grand Slam title just four years later. Throughout his career, the Spanish star went on to win 21 more Grand Slam titles, 14 of which came on the courts of the French Open. The 38-year-old won two Olympic gold medals, one in 2008 and one in 2016. He was ranked World No. 1 for a total of 209 weeks in his time on the ATP Tour.
After struggling with injuries for the past two seasons, Rafael Nadal announced in October earlier this year that he would hang up his racket after the 2024 Davis Cup. Now, though his time on the court has come to an end, fans can expect to see the 38-year-old back in a competitive setting soon enough, with reports claiming that he is set to participate in the FGB Hexagonal Golf Circuit.
The tennis star has made two previous appearances in the golf competition, once in 2021 and once in 2022. He represented the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy both times, finishing fifth in 2021 and first in 2022.
Rafael Nadal on playing golf to keep his competitive spirit satisfied
While Rafael Nadal may ended his professional tennis career, he is still a competitor at heart. Back in 2022, the Spaniard spoke of his love for various sports, explaining that he enjoyed the competitiveness.
As he made a comeback from injury at the 2022 Australian Open, the 38-year-old was questioned about his golfing exploits during his time away from tennis in a Eurosport interview, with the host asking if Nadal could live without competition. To this, he replied,
“Probably no, if I can’t compete anymore I need to adapt to other things, but I love the competition in general. I have always been a very sports guy. I always like to practice different sports as I said on the corner (yesterday). Unfortunately, the last years I was not able to play football anymore or even different kinds of sports that I used to do. So golf helps because it’s not aggressive, it’s not dangerous, I am able to spend time with the people that I like and in some way I feel that I am competing when I am not able to practice or play at the (ATP) tour.”
While the Spaniard might not be quite the maestro on the golf course as he is on the tennis courts, he’s still fairly good at the sport. Earlier this year, he was crowned champion at the 2024 Nations Cup, an amateur tournament held in his hometown of Mallorca.
