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Tom Hamilton, Senior Writer
MALAGA, Spain —Rafael Nadal said he is unsure what role he will play at the Davis Cup this week, but he added he is at peace with his decision to retire from the sport and said any emotion will be kept in check until after the Davis Cup finishes.
Nadal, 38, was speaking on the eve of him taking part in his final competition in professional tennis as he lines up for Spain in the Davis Cup for its tie with the Netherlands. Spain captain David Ferrer would not be drawn on whether Nadal will play singles or doubles on Tuesday, but Nadal said he is ready to give his all for his country.
“If I’m on the court I hope to control my emotions. I’m not here to retire, I’m here to help the team win,” Nadal told a news conference.
“It’s my last week in a team competition and the most important thing is to help the team. Emotions will come at the end. Before and after I’ll be focused on what I have to do.”
It was a packed press room in Malaga on Monday for Spain’s team, as Nadal fielded questions on whether he had any regrets over retiring, and his emotions, as he prepares for one final swing.
He was sat on stage next to the other members of the Spanish team — including Carlos Alcaraz — but the attention was on Nadal, complete with his 22 Grand Slams and incredible legacy in the sport.
“It’s something that I have been thinking about for quite a long time, I wanted to have one more chance,” Nadal said.
“I try to work as hard as possible in the last month and a half. Just trying to do my best every single day. It’s difficult to hold the level in a constant basis when you’re not competing for a while. The improvement is there but we have a great team on Spain the thing is all these players on the tour are having great seasons and it’s up to the captain to decide what’s best for the team.”
Nadal said he is not sure what emotions he will feel on Tuesday, if it is indeed his last match, with Spain potentially playing again in the semifinals on Friday and the final on Sunday if they progress that far. But Nadal said he leaves the sport content he gave it his all.
“Everybody when arrive the end of a long career, of course, at the end I will change things that I did, I will do things that I will change to try to be better and to try to avoid things, but at the end, I achieved the most important thing for me,” Nadal said.
“I arrived this day, and I am in peace that I give all what I had, and I played and I practiced since I was seven years old but in that age, I started to work more and more with passion, with love, and with the determination to be as good as possible.
“I am not the kind of guy that I will say, no, I will not change things, because for me it looks arrogant. Of course I will change things, but one thing have been so important for me, because I am going to leave this professional tour with the calm and with the personal satisfaction that I give my best almost in every single moment.”
Nadal said his decision to retire from the sport was not due to a new injury, but gradual wear and tear. He said he knew his body could no longer match the levels of his own ambition, and said he did not want to have one more farewell tour where he felt he could not be as competitive as he once was.
“It’s about the things that I went through, and, I mean, with the surgery last year, and I am not going to add the rest of the things that I had, but a few ones, make me feel that I cannot be enough competitive, and I am not able to enjoy my daily basis the way that I need to be competitive at the highest level,” he said.
“So at the end of the day, all relate to the question of myself is about, OK, I can hold for one more year, but why? To say goodbye in every single tournament, I don’t have the ego to need that.
“So at the end is about a feeling that I have been thinking for a long time. For me, today don’t make sense or to keep going knowing that I don’t have the real chance to be competitive the way that I like to be competitive, because my body is not able to give me the possibility to do that very often.”
Nadal played doubles alongside Alcaraz at Paris 2024, and they could link up again for Spain against the Netherlands.
“The Olympic Games were very special with the doubles with Rafa Nadal,” Alcaraz said. “Being with him in his last moments of tennis, for me it is super special. Not only for me, but for the whole team. It is wonderful for the team that we have the opportunity to accompany Nadal in this tournament.”
Nadal said he is unsure what the future holds. For now, it’s competing for Spain, then it’s the great unknown.
“I am not worried about the next chapter in my life,” Nadal said. “I have been always happy without tennis, and I had a lot of moments in my life that I was not able to play tennis because of injuries, so I spent a lot of months doing other things.
“But at the same time always accept the challenge of an important change in my life that for everyone, when you have important changes in your life, you need to accept the process and accept that the things at the beginning gonna be a little bit, I don’t know if difficult, but different, and you need to respect the process, no? So I don’t know how the things are going to be.”