Rafael Nadal’s career has been an illustrious one, to say the least, having won 18 Grand Slams and still going strong (he just won the Rogers Cup). Injury has however been one of the major issues throughout his career.
What uncle Toni has to say about Nadal’s injuries?
According to Nadal’s uncle Toni, since 2005, Rafael has been living with painkillers and pain. In the year 2018, his uncle, Toni Nadal said in an interview to Congreso Murcia Sport & Business conference in Spain’s Murcia: “For this reason, he’s considered his well-being above wins and many times he’s told me that he would have liked to win less in exchange for having less pain”.
The Spaniard had to withdraw from some major tournaments due to his injuries. Most recently, he had to withdraw from the Indian Wells Masters and Miami.
In the current year 2019, he admitted that he wrote off the year as far as playing tennis was concerned. But, after his 12th French Open title, he had more reasons to trust his injury-plagued body.
A few months ago, the world no.2 was failing to “live”, “feel” or “enjoy” his sport, but the victory in the French Open has revived his spirits and it made him more positive about his body. This positive outlook resulted in his 5th Rogers Cup trophy.
During his strenuous practice sessions before the Rogers Cup, Nadal said in an interview: “There are many great players here, so I have to just prepare myself as soon as possible and be ready for the action. If I’m thinking about injuries when I play tennis, I cannot play tennis”.
He further said that “I’m thinking about the ball, the opponent and what I have to do to play my best. I’m not worried. If something happens, then I will accept it and that’s it. Therefore, “I’m not putting more emphasis on it because when you think negatively, there’s more of a chance that things can happen.”
Despite his injury issues, Nadal has managed to be in the ‘Big Three’ of tennis for a long time now. With 18 Grand Slams to his name, he is surely one of the best players that the world has ever seen.
