Don’t remember ever playing without pain – Rafael Nadal

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal has had a glorious career but at the same time, he has also pushed his body to the limits. Nadal has trained hard on and off the court to reap rewards for his work ethic. It is well known that Nadal likes to give his 120% every time he plays and he means business when gets on the court.

Meanwhile, Nadal had to face injury woes as he complained of pain in his lower back and thus could not represent Spain in the ATP Cup 2021. However, Nadal’s team was able to provide him temporary solutions and he was able to participate in the Australian Open.

But Nadal’s journey was ended by Greece’s player Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-final after the Spaniard was two sets up. However, Nadal didn’t make any injury excuses and took the defeat on his chin.

Nadal then went on to pull out his name from the ongoing ATP Rotterdam in the Netherlands after taking the advice of his doctor and team in Spain. The Spaniard stated he doesn’t remember ever playing without pain and as a professional athlete, one has to find a way to deal with it.

“Honestly, I don’t remember ever playing without pain,” said the Spaniard. “You need to learn to live with it, as long as it doesn’t stop you from playing,” he said.

Nadal revealed he changed his technique, routines and serve positioning to deal with pain and injuries.

“I changed routines, trained fewer hours than I would like, improved my serve and my positioning.”

Nadal has been a champion and he has never given-up despite the adversities. It is noted that the world-class players go through a lot of injuries as their body takes a toll after playing for a long period of time. However, Nadal has always tried to keep himself fit as a fiddle and he is going strong despite being 34 years old.