{"id":23811,"date":"2025-02-06T04:21:11","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T04:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=23811"},"modified":"2025-02-06T04:21:11","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T04:21:11","slug":"rafael-nadal-makes-major-confession-about-life-after-retirement-after-being-named-spains-best-athlete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=23811","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal makes major confession about life after retirement after being named Spain\u2019s best athlete"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rafael Nadal bid farewell to tennis as an active player last November at the Davis Cup, closing a legendary chapter after injuries took their toll.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\u201cI<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Rafael Nadal (Image via ATP\/X)<\/p>\n

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Rafael Nadal<\/strong>\u00a0opened up about his life post-retirement after he was honored as the best athlete from Spain by Mundo Deportivo, a media outlet in the country. The Spaniard is convinced that at present, he is doing fine as fitness problems in the last few years helped him move on and start the next chapter of his life easily.<\/p>\n

Nadal became the second member of the Big 3 to bid farewell to tennis following\u00a0Roger Federer<\/strong>\u2018s retirement at the 2022 Laver Cup. The 38-year-old retired at last year\u2019s Davis Cup Finals after Spain\u2019s defeat against the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

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\"YouTube<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

It was injuries that forced him to call time on his career, as he never fully recovered following the hip injury he suffered at the 2023 Australian Open. Post-retirement, the Spaniard participated in the FGB Hexagonal Golf Circuit and was recently spotted in Miami as he spent some time at the JW Marriot Marquis Hotel.<\/p>\n

Nadal also received an\u00a0honorary doctorate from the University of Salamanca. And after being named the best sportsman in Spain for his incredible career that spanned for over two decades, Nadal confessed that he doesn\u2019t miss tennis much.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Rafael Nadal\u00a0retired after bagging 22 Grand Slam titles, the second most in men\u2019s tennis. But when former World No.4\u00a0Tim Henman<\/strong>\u00a0practiced with him for the first time in Miami, he had some doubts about the Mallorca-born\u2019s abilities.<\/p>\n

\"Rafael<\/figure>\n
Henman, however, realized then only that he was wrong after Nadal beat him 6-1. The Brit, who had reached multiple Grand Slam semifinals, also never predicted that the Big 3 would win 66 Majors between them.<\/figure>\n

Only\u00a0Novak Djokovic<\/strong>\u00a0is the last remaining member of the Big 3 but age too is catching up with him as injuries have started to hamper his performance. The Serb\u2019s recent hamstring injury forced him to withdraw from the Australian Open semifinals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rafael Nadal bid farewell to tennis as an active player last November at the Davis Cup, closing a legendary chapter after injuries took their toll. 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