Rafael Nadal has been accused of having an ‘addiction’ to tennis that became ‘unhealthy’ (Image: Getty)
has been accused of having an ‘unhealthy addiction’ to tennis.
After watching the Spaniard hang up his racket, retired tennis star Andrea Petkovic suggested that Nadal had been too obsessed with the sport.
And Petkovic had another “hot take” as she questioned Nadal’s signature approach to every match.
Nadal officially , retiring when Spain suffered defeat to the Netherlands in their quarter-final tie. It had been a long time coming – the former No. 1 spent most of the last two years sidelined by injuries.
He in early October, saying: “The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially I don’t think I’ve been able to play without limitations.”
It was a difficult decision for the 22-time Grand Slam champion, who has successfully returned to the top of the game following lengthy injury layoffs and major surgeries multiple times in the past.
While Nadal’s ability to return from severe injuries has often been lauded, Petkovic believes the Spaniard’s passion for the game was something of an obsession and affected his wellbeing.
Andrea Petkovic believes Rafael Nadal could have won even more if he played with less fear (Image: Getty)
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“Boris [Becker]… I just saw him for a lot of times now lately, and he said to me, ‘It’s like a drug. Tennis is like a drug’,” she told the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.
“He said, ‘Winning titles is a drug, playing on Centre Court is a drug’. I think with Rafa you could see when it turns into addiction, when it becomes hurtful for your life.”
Nadal may have been more injury-prone than his rivals but former world No. 9 Petkovic says he ultimately took things too far.
She continued: “You could tell that he was starting to neglect his being, like you could see that it was unhealthy, he was injured all the time, you could see it in his face. Rafa is not the most relaxed person in general.”
And the German tennis star had another controversial opinion about one of Nadal’s signature traits. The 22-time Major winner is known for his intensity on court, playing every point as if it were his last.
But Petkovic claims Nadal could have won even more if he took that pressure off himself and played the way he did in practice. “I will have the hottest of hottest takes here. I think he could have been much better if he had less fear in him,” she added.
“Have you ever watched him practice? He played in practice 10 times the speed which he played in matches, as he got so tight and everything got short. Sometimes you would get glimpses that Rafa would be able to play even better, which is crazy.”
But Nadal has now left all of that behind him. It remains to be seen if and how he will find a new role in tennis but he has his own academy in his hometown of Manacor, Mallorca and will likely stay involved.