Rafael Nadal reveals which two sports he has taken up following his tennis retirement 'after 15 years without playing'
Published 25/06/2025 at 13:23 GMT+1
Rafael Nadal has been retired from professional tennis for nearly a year, although he did make a rare appearance on the tour last month when he was invited to Roland-Garros to celebrate his achievements at the French Open. But the Spanish great has been keeping himself fit and active, revealing which sports now occupy his time - and whether he might pick up his racquet again in the future.
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Gone but never forgotten - Rafael Nadal has been watching on the tennis sidelines for close to a year now, following his emotional retirement at the Paris Olympics last August.
But while Andy Murray has already returned to the front lines - albeit briefly - as a coach to Novak Djokovic, there has been no sign yet of ‘Rafa’ following suit.
Nadal would be in good company if he did turn his hand to coaching, fellow Spanish stars Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero having both turned their attention to coaching following the conclusion of their respective careers, with the latter currently in charge of Nadal’s successor, Carlos Alcaraz.
But instead, Nadal has been focusing on honing his skills in some other sports - with mixed success.
"I love sports in general, and my life has always been linked to sports," Nadal said, as reported by Sport.
"But I became especially interested in golf when I was a professional because it was a sport that allowed me to do something I enjoyed outside of tennis and with minimal risk of injury.
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"I loved playing football and other things, but there was a risk of injury that I had to avoid.
"Now I've played football several times. After 15 years without playing, I've become bad at it. I play how I can. Usually as a forward."
Nadal has always been a passionate Real Madrid fan, despite his uncle playing professionally for Barcelona - so his footballing skills could yet improve with practice.
But aside from golfing success and footballing failures, Nadal did not rule out coaching in the future, citing that "tennis is part of my life."
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But he has yet to work out quite where tennis might fit into his future, with his day to day activities centred on keeping his often-ailing body fit and healthy, as well as spending time with his young family.
"At the moment, I'm doing a little bit of everything; I'm keeping some routines from when I played tennis to protect my knees and shoulders, which is the most dangerous in our sport.
"And I'm getting ready for when I decide to play a bit of tennis again, even if it's in a different way, but it will help me be more or less ready."
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With some space now to reflect on his career, it is not the Grand Slam titles, the records or even the rivalries that Nadal wishes to be remembered for - not even against Roger Federer, his great friend who he went toe-to-toe with in so many astonishing matches.
"On a sporting level, the results are what people will remember," Nadal continued.
"On a human level, you might even fool the general public around the world, but the people who work at a tournament, not just your team, are the ones who see your day-to-day life.
"They are the ones who truly value how you are, and when you return years later, they are excited not because of the numbers, but because of who you are as a person, because of your character.
"I would like to be one of those people who, when they return to tournaments after three or four years, even if it's just for two days, enjoy seeing me again.
"I've had a good reaction from everyone during [my] 20-year career, and this is what remains.
"The way you've behaved, the way you've treated the people you've been around. I've tried to do that well, and I'm more or less loved for the way I've behaved."
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