“Sincerely, Rafa”: Nadal’s emotional letter to review his career

Almost a month after his last match as a professional tennis player, the Spaniard Rafael Nadal continues to excite the entire circuit and the fans, no longer on a field but this time through a sincere and heartbreaking letter to review his unparalleled career.

“Tennis is a sport that mentally demands a lot from you., but there are many moments of joy that I will never forget,” began the legendary Manacorí, who permanently hung up his racket after falling in doubles with his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz (3rd) in the Davis Cup quarterfinals, in a text to The Players Tribune site.

“The Davis Cup in 2004, Roland-Garros in 2005 of course Wimbledon in 2008. But then there’s my first US Open and when I closed the circle of the Grand Slam tournaments in Melbourne. And I don’t forget those tournaments like Madrid and Barcelona in my country, Indian Wells, Miami and Cincinnatiwhere I won for the first time in 2013, the beautiful Monte Carlothe special feeling of Rome, Shanghai and Beijing with those incredible fans. Also Canada, Mexico, Chili, Brazilmy first days in Buenos Airesmany moments”, continued the owner of 92 titles, 22 in events Majors.

Consequently, the left-handed fighter, who totaled 1,080 wins and 228 losses in his extensive career, revealed his secret to becoming one of the best players in history: “I feel full of incredible memories. However, You can never stop demanding yourself. You can never relax. You always need to improve, that has been the constant in my life. Always push your limits and improve. “That’s how I became a better player.”

“For 30 years, The image he transmitted to the world was not always what he felt inside. Honestly, I have always been nervous before every game I have playedthat never goes away. Every night before a game I went to bed feeling like I could lose,” confessed the now former pupil of his countryman Carlos Moyá, who only recorded 50 falls on brick dust, his favorite surface.

Continuing along the same lines, the double gold medalist in the Olympic Games expressed: “In tennis, the difference between players is very small and between rivals even more so. When you go out on the court, anything can happen, so everyone Your senses must be awake and alive. That feeling, the internal fire, the nerves, the adrenaline of going out and seeing a full court is a very difficult feeling to describe. It is a feeling that only a few can understand and something that. I’m sure it will never be the same now that I’m retiring as a professional.“.

“Tennis is also a teacher of life itself. Most of the time you don’t win the tournament you play in. No matter who you are, at the end of many weeks, you have lost. Real life is the same. You learn to live with the moments of joy and the moments of pain, and you try to treat them in the same way,” said one of the members of the unrepeatable Big 3, made up of the Swiss Roger Federer and the Serbian Novak Djokovic (7th).

“In the good times I never thought I was Superman and in the bad I never thought I was a failure.. What makes you grow as a person is life itself: the failuresthe nerveshe painthe happinessthe process of waking up every day and trying to be a little better to achieve your goals,” said the king of the Philippe Chatrier, a scene in which he was crowned 14 times.

On the other hand, the former world number 1, a position he dominated for 209 weeks, acknowledged how he would like to be remembered: “Deep down, when everything is said and done, one receives what one gives. I hope my legacy is that I always treated others with deep respect.. This was my parents’ golden rule. When I was a child, my father always told me: ‘Inventing is difficult, copying is much easier.’ He didn’t talk about tennis. “He talked about life.”

“Look around you and see the people you admire. How they treat people, what you like about them. Act like them and you’ll probably live a happy life. I carried that lesson with me to every game I played. I was not fueled by hatred towards my rivals, but by deep respect and admiration.. I just tried to wake up every morning and get a little better so I could keep up with them. It didn’t always work! But I tried, I always tried,” said his nation’s flag bearer in Rio 2016.

“For more than 30 years I have given everything I could to this game. In return, I have received joy and happiness. Joy and happiness, love and friendship, and much more. Sincerely, Rafa,” concluded Nadal, who marked a before and after at the highest level.