Rafael Nadal has admitted that he struggled to breathe and almost took a break during a tough period (Image: Getty)
has revealed that he had trouble breathing during a concerning time in his career.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion penned an open and honest letter just weeks after
And Nadal admitted that he almost took a lengthy break from the sport while struggling mentally.
The 38-year-old officially hung up his racket when Spain crashed out in the quarter-final of the Davis Cup Finals. Nadal has since made limited appearances, watching Real Madrid vs and entering a golf competition at home.
However, the former No. 1 has now given a candid insight into his career, confessing that he was always nervous. “For 30 years, the image that I was transmitting to the world was not always what I was feeling inside,” Nadal wrote for .
“Honestly, I have been nervous before every match I have ever played — it never leaves you. Every night before a match, I went to bed feeling that I could lose (and also when I woke up in the morning!).
“In tennis, the difference between players is very thin, and between rivals even more. When you go out there on the court, anything can happen, so all your senses must be awake, alive.”
Rafael Nadal retired at the Davis Cup Finals last month (Image: Getty)
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“That feeling, the inner fire and the nerves, the adrenaline of walking out and seeing a full court, it is a sensation that is very difficult to describe.”
While Nadal knows he will likely never feel that again, having retired, he’s hopeful that there will be “moments” while playing exhibition matches and other sports.
Although the nerves drove him, things took a turn a few years ago when it became difficult for the Spaniard to control his mind while on the court. He continued: “For most of my career, I was good at controlling these emotions. With one exception
“I went through a very difficult moment, mentally, a few years ago. Physical pain I was very used to, but there were times on the court when I had trouble controlling my breathing, and I couldn’t play at the highest level. I don’t have trouble saying it now.
“After all, we are human beings, not superheroes. The person you see at centre court with a trophy is a person. Exhausted, relieved, happy, thankful — but just a person.”
While the stress didn’t get too out of hand, Nadal spent months contemplating whether he should keep competing.
“Thankfully, I didn’t get to the point of not being able to control things like anxiety, but there are moments with every player when it’s difficult to control your mind, and when that happens it’s difficult to have total control of your game,” he explained.
“There were months when I thought about taking a complete break from tennis to cleanse my mind. In the end, I worked on it every day to get better.
“I conquered it by always moving forward, and I slowly became myself again. The thing that I’m most proud of is that I may have struggled, but I never quit. I always gave the maximum.”
After spending years giving his maximum and squeezing everything he could out of his career, Nadal has now entered retirement. But he won’t leave tennis behind completely – he’s already