One of the greatest tennis players of all time, Rafael Nadal announced his retirement in November. In a video posted on October 10, the Spaniard looks back on his career and confides in one of the keys to his success and longevity: “Family is everything to me!”
Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, winner of 22 Grand Slam tournaments including 14 French Opens, announced his retirement after Spain’s Davis Cup match in November. He said it in a moving video shared on his social networks.
The 38-year-old athlete has been fighting in recent years to stay at the highest level. But his body, damaged by 34 injuries throughout his 23-year career, had decided otherwise. Particularly since 2022, the year when the athlete revealed that he was suffering from Müller-Weiss syndrome, a rare pathology affecting a bone in the foot, which can cause chronic pain and lead, in the most serious cases, to osteoarthritis with shortening. of the plantar arch. “The reality is it’s been tough recently, especially the last two years. I think I haven’t been able to play without a disability. I think it’s the right time to put an end to which has been a long career and much more successful than I could ever have imagined,” says Rafael Nadal at the start of his video. And after a rereading of his career and a mention of these no less famous rivals, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, the Spaniard delivered a beautiful tribute to his family.
“A thousand thanks”
“Family is everything to me,” the athlete begins by saying while images of his family appear in the video. He thanks them, starting with his mother, Ana María Parera: “My mother made all the sacrifices she had to make so that we always had everything.” He then evokes his wife, Maria Francisca Perelló known as “Xisca”, with whom he has a perfect love. “My wife, Mery, we have been together for 19 years. Thank you for everything you have done, you have been my perfect traveling companion for all these years of my career. Coming home and seeing how my son is growing up has been a strength that allowed me to resist and give me the energy to continue.”
The sportsman also does not forget his sister, María Isabel, with whom he confides that he has always had an incredible relationship. His uncle, Toni Nadal, himself a former tennis champion, at the origin of his “vocation” of player is also entitled to a tribute: “Thanks to him, I overcame many difficult situations in my sporting career,” confides El Matador before warmly thanking his father, Sebastián Nadal, “who was a source of inspiration to all respects. […] He was an example of effort, of improvement.”
The tennis player who began his professional career in 2001 concludes his video by thanking his fans and says he leaves “with absolute peace of mind having given everything […] I can only end by saying a thousand thanks to everyone and see you soon.”
