The Spanish tennis player revealed one of his goals for the future on Movistar Plus+
Rafael Nadal has given his first major interview since he played his last match exactly eight months ago, at the Australian Open.
A few months later he announced that he would not play for the rest of the season. Now, a relaxed and healthy-looking Rafa chatted with Juanma Castano in front of the Movistar Plus+ cameras.
He hinted that his decision to step away from tennis in 2024 will depend on his physical condition...
Rafa points out that in recent months he has gone through different phases.
"The last time I spoke in public I didn't know I had to have surgery," Nadal told Movistar Plus+.
"Actually, I had problems since a year and a half ago when I injured my ribs playing against Alcaraz in Indian Wells, although in between I won another Roland Garros.
"Sometimes the results make up for the day-to-day pain."
The pain hasn't left him but now it's manageable.
"Sometimes my foot doesn't let me live in peace, it's hard for me to walk down the stairs, and that happens sometimes," Nadal said.
"If it hurts it's difficult to be happy, it changes my character when it hurts more than it should."
Now: his current physical state allows him to open a door that has been looming ever larger year-by-year... the door to retirement.
"I said that possibly 2024 will be my last year," Nadal continued. "I stand by that, but I can't confirm it 100%.
"I think there's a good chance that it will be, because I know how my body is but how I'll be in four months, I don't know. I'm not sure what I'll be doing in 2024, because it will change completely depending on what my objectives are.
"If I don't recover, that's one thing, if I can compete at a level that excites me, that's another...
"My hope is, by mid-November, to know how I am physically. These are the deadlines I have set for myself".
Nadal regrets how he treated his body during his formative years
Whilst the topic of retirement is a difficult one for Nadal to discuss, he places the blame for his physical issues firmly at his own door, suggesting that a lack of care when he was younger has contributed to his injury troubles.
"I would change a lot of things in my life and my career. I've made the wrong decisions when it comes to protecting my physique," Nadal stated.
"I did it when I was younger, but for years I've been one of the best players on the circuit. Djokovic has done better because the way he plays has allowed him to play more than me. But I was wrong because I thought my decisions were good."
When pressed on just what he would like to achieve after leaving tennis behind, Nadal looked towards his other sporting passion... football.
Despite his familial ties to Barcelona, Nadal has always been a fan of Real Madrid... he adores Los Blancos and he hopes to be part of the club's structure one day.
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