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Rafael Nadal is less than a year into retirement, and the 22-time Grand Slam champion is showing no signs of regret.
Speaking to the media at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid on Monday night, Nadal was frank about his time away from the courts. The Spanish legend said he doesn’t miss playing, and his reason is because he left the game feeling "happy."
Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts to a point during his match against Alexander Zverev of Germany on day two of Roland Garros at Stade Roland Garros on May 27, 2024. (Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports)
"The truth is I don't miss it. In fact, I miss it zero," he said, via CBS Sports. "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."
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Nadal, 38, is largely considered one of the greatest of all time and had for decades competed alongside Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer for some of tennis’ fiercest battles on the big stage. "The Big Three," as they became known as, have collectively earned 66 Grand Slam singles titles between them.
Only Djokovic remains active.
Nadal announced his retirement from the sport in October after injuries hampered the latter half of his career.
Rafael Nadal plays against Novak Djokovic (SRB) in the men’s tennis sinlges first round during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Roland Garros on July 29, 2024. (Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports)
"It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make," he said in his retirement announcement. "But, in this life, everything has a beginning and an end. And I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined."
Nadal did add Monday, that despite not missing anything, if he were still healthy today, he would still be playing.
"If it had been possible, I would still be playing because I loved what I did," he said, according to the report. "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."
Rafael Nadal waves to the crowd after losing to Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram (USA) in a men's doubles quarterfinal tennis match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Roland Garros on July 31, 2024. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
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Nadal has won a record 14 French Open titles, the U.S. Open four times and won twice at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, respectively. He racked up gold medals in 2008 in Beijing and 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
His retirement followed Federer’s in 2022.
Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
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