(CNN) — That cannot be denied Rafael Nadal enjoyed some of the best tennis careers in the history of sports. A total of 22 Grand Slams, including a record 14 French Open titles and 209 weeks as World No. 1, all while playing in arguably the most competitive era of men’s competition tennis.
But while his achievements are well documented, what is less known is how close he came to never happening at all, and how an injury suffered early in his career nearly derailed everything he had been working towards.
Rewind to 2005 and Nadal was starting to make a name for himself. The young Spaniard claimed his first grand slam title at Roland Garros and finished that season as number 2 in the world.
But while many in the tennis world projected his future success after a breakout year on tour, Nadal was faced with the real possibility of never playing again.
At the end of 2005, Nadal felt a crunching sensation in his foot during a match. After tests, the diagnosis was later made Mueller-Weiss syndromea rare degenerative condition that affects the bones in the foot.
It led to a period where it was unclear whether the 19-year-old phenom could continue his dream of becoming a professional tennis player, let alone become one of the greatest tennis players ever.
“That was probably the toughest part of my tennis career,” Nadal said in a wide-ranging interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in Madrid. “Because that was just the beginning.
“In some ways you project your future as a professional tennis player, thinking you’ll be on the professional tour for at least seven, eight, 10 years, that’s why you’ve been practicing almost all your life.
“And then within a second it seems like you might not be able to keep doing what you’re doing.”
Nadal reflects extensively on that difficult time in a new four-part docuseries on Netflix, which provides previously unseen insight into the struggle behind his extraordinary success and famous courage.
Injuries and Nadal’s ability to recover from them are one of the key stories in the documentary, starting with that major setback early in his career.
“When you’re 19, you feel everything in a different way. You’re very young,” he added. “But I was lucky to have very good people next to me.
“Of course I always had the hope that things would go well and that I would be able to continue playing, but the news had not been positive for a few months.”
Mental health challenges
But eventually, Nadal and his medical team found a solution that worked: a new, advanced insole that moved his foot almost 7mm inside his sneaker. Nike then went away and created a new shoe specifically designed for his foot.
While it was a solution that worked, it certainly did not mean the end of his injury problems. The foot problem surfaced several times, especially in the seasons leading up to his retirement in 2024.
There were also several wrist and knee problems that contributed to the Spaniard missing a total of 18 grand slams during his career – a number that makes his 22 major titles seem even more impressive.
But while there was undoubtedly success through adversity – he fought through pain and found solutions to stay competitive – Nadal was not as bulletproof as he seemed from the outside.
In his interview with CNN, the 39-year-old opened up about how he struggled with the mental pressure and anxiety of battling injuries and competing in elite sport. It got to the point where he couldn’t leave the house without a bottle of water in his hand.
“Probably because I’ve had a lot of injuries, a lot of pressure and I’m at a point where somehow you can’t handle it all – even if in my mind I could handle it all,” he said.
“But it got to a point where your mind gives out, and that’s what happened. I always thought I had to figure things out for myself, in terms of mental strength. But if I can’t go out on the street without a bottle of water in my hand, that’s a big thing. So I had to get help and I did.”
Nadal initially went to a psychologist, but didn’t feel much benefit from it. He then saw a psychiatrist around 2015, and his court appearances suffered.
“After that, I started taking some medications for a while and after a few months I could start to feel improvements. That lasted for about a year and then I recovered naturally,” he added.
Alcaraz and Ibiza
Nadal was and is not the only one feeling the pressure in professional tennis. The grueling schedule means players travel away from home for approximately eleven months each year, with tournaments coming in quick succession.
It naturally leads to burnout, both mentally and physically, with dealing with injuries and workload now an essential aspect of the tour.
Carlos Alcaraz He is said to be Nadal’s heir apparent, with the 23-year-old cementing himself as the dominant force in the game alongside rival Jannik Sinner. While the pair take the sport to a new level, Alcaraz, like Nadal, has struggled with injuries.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner has withdrawn from both the French Open and Wimbledon this year as he recovers from a wrist injury, an issue Nadal believes every athlete will face in their career.
But Nadal was quick to defend Alcaraz’s life off the pitch after the young Spaniard opened up about his need for mid-season breaks, particularly trips to Ibiza which he uses to blow off steam and reset his thoughts.
And while that admission raised a few eyebrows in the sport, it’s something Nadal is all too aware of.
“I went to Ibiza every year with my friends,” Nadal said. “Everyone has to find their own place.
“My life was much more than tennis, but I didn’t want to project that to the world. I didn’t think it was interesting for the world that I went to Ibiza. (Alcaraz) decided to make that public. I respect that. It seems like it works very well for him too.”
The CNN Wire
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