Rafael Nadal, five months into retirement, says he does not miss tennis: ‘I miss it zero’

Five months after officially retiring, 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal said he does not miss tennis — not in the slightest. 

“The truth is I don’t miss it. In fact, I miss it zero,” he said Monday after receiving the Sporting Icon honor at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid, Spain. “But I miss it zero not because I finished tired of tennis or fighting against tennis. Not at all, the complete opposite. I finished happy with tennis.”

Nadal announced his plans to retire last October, and officially played his last match at the Davis Cup on Nov. 19, 2024. 

Rafael Nadal officially retires; receives messages from David Beckham, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, others

Isabel Gonzalez

He walked away from the game after 23 years at the age of 38 as one of the most successful players in tennis history with a 1080–228 career record, 92 ATP Tour titles and two Olympic gold medals on top of his dominance in Grand Slams. He was particularly prolific on clay with 63 titles on the surface, including a record 14 French Open titles.

Nadal was part of the Big Three of tennis along with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who retired in 2022. Both Nadal and Federer cited injuries as the major reason for saying goodbye to the sport they love. Even in recent years, Nadal was still a force to be reckoned with, as he showed in 2022 by winning the Australian and French Open titles.

While he said he doesn’t miss playing now that he is retired, Nadal shared he would still be doing it if he were physically able to perform at a high level. He gave himself plenty of time to decide, but ultimately he knows he made the right decision. 

“If it had been possible, I would still be playing because I loved what I did,” he said. “I was passionate about it and it’s been like that my whole life. It’s just that when you realize you can’t do it anymore, you try to close that chapter. And I closed it.”