“One regret that Nadal probably has is he missed a lot of Majors because of injury” – Patrick McEnroe

“When we first saw him, we thought, this guy’s not going to play until maybe his late 20s”

November 30, 2024

Now that the dust has settled on Rafael Nadal‘s retirement, it’s time to reflect on how exactly the Spaniard rose to the upper echelons of tennis. Patrick McEnroe, International Tennis Hall of Fame president and former world No 28, did something similar, weighing in on Nadal’s philosophy and approach toward the racquet sport.

“When he talked about his game, you really felt that what he said was so true, when he talked about he wanted to be in the fight,” McEnroe told PBS News. “He wanted to work hard. It wasn’t just about the wins and losses. And a lot of athletes say that, but you don’t really believe it. But with Nadal, I really believe it, that he just loved the fight. He loved the competition.”

Nadal did what he loved on the tennis court for 23 years (2001-24) and left behind a legacy of relentless fighting spirit that earned him 22 Grand Slam titles, 209 weeks as the world No 1, and admiration from fans across the globe.

1.307 matches played
2.632.500 meters run
𝟬 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱
5 hours 53 minutes longest ever final
81 consecutive wins on clay
4 generations inspired

𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦.
𝗜𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.

🙌🏻 @Nike 🤝 @RafaelNadal 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/DvXFqUMC49
— Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar (@rnadalacademy) November 22, 2024

It’s no hidden fact that the 22-time Grand Slam champion fought himself as much as he fought his opponents, enduring the pain from uncountable injuries that pushed him off the competitive circuit many times.

He used to say: ‘I have to be willing to suffer when I go out on the court.’ he suffered physically over the years.”
Patrick McEnroe

McEnroe further revealed not backing Nadal to have a long career, suggesting the latter might also be ruing the missed opportunities, including 18 Majors, due to physical limitations.

“The one regret that I think Nadal probably has that he will never admit to, but is that he missed a lot of Majors because of injury. And he played with so much intensity, so much physicality that, when we first saw him, we thought, this guy’s not going to play until maybe his late 20s. Of course, he ended up playing into his mid, late 30s. But his dynamic style of play and that ferociousness that he played with eventually caught up to him.”

Patrick McEnroe recalls Nadal’s heroics against Roddick

Patrick McEnroe also recalled watching Nadal compete for the first time in person — when the former led the US Davis Cup team in 2004. The Americans met Spain in the title clash, where then 18-year-old Nadal overcame then world No 2 Andy Roddick (6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (6), 6-2) to contribute to his side’s triumph.

“I saw him for the first time in a competitive match in the Davis Cup final when I was the captain for the US,” McEnroe recalled.

“We were playing in Seville in a soccer stadium in the final. And they put in this young teenager. And we thought to ourselves, ‘Oh, maybe we have got a shot!’ This is before he’d won the French. ‘Maybe we could beat this guy!’ And when I saw him beat Andy Roddick in that Davis Cup match in front of the home crowd of 35,000 people, I thought, ‘Wow, this guy is different!’ And he sure turned out to be very different.”

Spain ended up defeating US 3-2 in that final.