'Rafael Nadal has to assess how he wants to...', says former ATP ace

• Tennis News
• Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal has made it clear that he continues to play tennis only because he wants to achieve more success. Nadal, 35, stressed that he does not stay for the money or the fun, as he is as determined as ever to win big titles.

Nadal, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, did not win a Grand Slam title this year as he skipped Wimbledon and the US Open due to a foot injury. "I still believe that I will be competitive enough to give myself the opportunity to compete for the things that I have been competing in for the last 15 years; if not, it personally doesn't make sense," Nadal said, according to Reem Abulleil.

"I'm not playing at all for money or just for fun, I'm playing to keep achieving goals or at least to enjoy the process of trying to achieve my goals. If you don't achieve it later, that's fine, but the motivation and passion is still there." Nadal hopes to play at the Australian Open, but there is no guarantee that the Spaniard will play at Melbourne Park.

If all goes well, Nadal would play an ATP event in Melbourne before the Australian Open. “The only thing I want to do or what I am fighting for is to be prepared if the situation has a small chance to change and I feel healthy and I can play the tournament before Australia and be there for 20 days.

Rafa Nadal made his comeback

Playtomic held the Padel Awards for the world of Padel tennis recently. The star guest for the awards was former Spanish tennis player Alex Corretja. “Do you think Rafael Nadal can go back to being the one he was before his last injury?” Corretja was asked.

To this, the 47-year-old replied, “Rafa will retire being a winner, whatever happens”. He talked about what Nadal must do, going forward. “He has to assess how he wants to face what he has left from now on,” Corretja said.

His tenacity is something the world knows, and Corretja comments on the same. “Being Rafa, you always have the feeling that he still has a bullet in his chamber to do something great. You can never doubt special people like him, even if he comes from a very long injury,” Corretja said.

Rafael Nadal, who recently made his comeback after a foot injury sidelined him since August, suffered a setback with his own COVID-19 diagnosis. The Spaniard competed at the 2021 Mubadala World Tennis Championship from 16-18 December.