Like many retirees, Rafael Nadal has been freed up to pursue his ambitions as a golfer. Unlike most, he reportedly plays off scratch. At the 25th edition of the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid, he spoke to Molly McElwee about life after tennis. He discussed the current turmoil in the men’s game and his dream of a golf tournament with Federer, Djokovic, and Murray.
Rafael Nadal’s Excellence
Rafael Nadal, a 22-time major champion and the greatest clay-court player of all time, does not miss the tennis court in the slightest. In fact, he has not touched a racket since he ended his career seven months ago. But the golf course is a different story, and he is feeling pretty confident about his game.
Asked whether he would ever tee up against the rest of tennis’s big four, his answer is instant. “Yes, it could happen, but they have to get training – I have a bit of an advantage in that,” he says, with his trademark eyebrow arch and a glint in his eye. “On the tennis court, there wasn’t that much difference between us. But in this, I’m much better than they.”
Good-humoured fighting talk from the Spaniard, on what would be a tantalising prospect. With 69 major titles and two decades of rivalry between Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray, people would pay good money to watch that amateur golf tournament.
All four are keen golfers, but they might have to wait until Djokovic is done with tennis. He remains in pursuit of major title number 25, which would make him the most decorated champion in history. […]
“I gave everything I had until the very end.” – Rafael Nadal
He has stayed well away from the tennis tour since retiring last November, after an emotional farewell in Malaga at the Davis Cup. “I gave everything I had until the very end.” Now his absence from tennis is felt more keenly than ever. A clay-court season without the presence of Rafael Nadal is like a Wimbledon fortnight without rain; it just does not feel quite right. But for the first time in 20 years, Nadal is not preparing for Roland Garros or at least trying to get his body in a fit state to aim for it.
Everything that had made him a tennis gladiator – supreme physicality, the emphatic, all-out effort and technique that punctuated every shot – eventually was his undoing. His body could not withstand another match. Andy Roddick, the former world number one turned podcaster, recently remarked that Nadal, 38, “couldn’t really walk for about a month” after he suffered the final loss of his career last November.
Now, with his new Laureus award in hand and the Roland Garros emotional tribute just a couple of weeks ago, […]
These are excerpts from Molly McElwee’s exclusive interview with Rafael Nadal. You can read it in full in the summer issue of I-M Inquisitive Minds. Secure your copy, HERE.
Read extracts from interviews with other stars that have graced the cover of I-M Inquisitive Minds. These include Angelina Jolie, Sofia Coppola, and Morgan Freeman.
Lead image: PA Images/Alamy. Post-production: Edwin Ingram
Second image: Courtesy of Richard Mille
Interview: Molly McElwee / The Interview People
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