Tennis legend Rafael Nadal admits he has not touched a racquet since retirement

Rafael Nadal shared that he hasn’t held a racquet at all since he retired from tennis three months ago. 

The 38-year-old athlete played his last professional tennis match at the Davis Cup in November 2024, capping off his incredible career that included 22 Grand Slam titles. Since then, he hasn’t felt the urge to pick up a racquet again, as he shared during a tribute arranged by the Spanish Olympic Committee.

Nadal said, “I have done less sport than I would like, but I have played football again… What I haven’t done is pick up a racquet again.”

“It is very important to have objectives in life so as not to get bored. For me, the big satisfaction above everything else is to be able to retire in peace,” he added.

Nadal’s tennis career

In his legendary career, Nadal won two Olympic gold medals. He secured the men’s singles title at the 2008 Beijing Games and the men’s doubles gold with Marc Lopez at the 2016 Rio Games. Furthermore, he was also honoured to be Spain’s flag bearer at the Rio opening ceremony.

The athlete won 14 French Open titles at Roland Garros and claimed four US Open titles. He was a two-time champion at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

The Davis Cup finals in Malaga last year were deeply emotional as Nadal said his final goodbye to the sport he dominated for over twenty years.

“I am very grateful to everyone. Sincerely, I have felt the love of the people during these years. The gratitude is infinite… The biggest success for me was the satisfaction to achieve what I did,” he admitted.