Spanish tennis superstar Rafael Nadal has acknowledged that tennis players experience many defeats and that the only way is to learn how to cope with them. Nadal, one of the most accomplished players in tennis history, has had many defeats in his career but one of his main characteristics is that he always bounced back from challenges.
“Tennis is a sport of defeat,” Nadal explained, per Tennis Majors. “Every week, or almost, we lose. It therefore represents a very important part of tennis, you have to learn to live with it. It’s a tough part of our sport on a mental level.
In golf, for example, when you are asked how the tournament went, you say, “I finished 10th, or so. “In tennis it’s, ‘I lost in the first round, second, etc,’ Mentally, the approach is therefore very different.
But in the end, I think the greatest personal satisfaction is knowing that you made every effort possible, every day, to try and achieve your goal. Then you achieve it or not, but what brings the most happiness is the fact of having given the maximum of what depends on yourself to get there.
It’s stronger than any success.”
Nadal recovering from a foot issue
After the French Open, Nadal took a two-month break as he skipped Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics. Nadal returned to action in Washington but he was still clearly hampered by a foot issue.
Shortly after, Nadal ended up calling it a season due to a foot injury. “I’ve known better, but I’m fine,” Nadal said. “My foot still hurts a bit. It’s been a difficult time. My goal is to get better, knowing that at some point I’m going to have to face difficult and painful stages.
But I have to go through them to put myself back in a position to fight for what I want. I am determined to make it happen. ”