Rafael Nadal recently gave his thoughts on how he is handling his retirement from tennis. The Spaniard has substituted the racket sport for golf these days, but claimed that without the competitive aspect, he has a hard time getting himself to focus on excelling at the latter.
Nadal enjoyed nearly two decades at the top-most rungs of men’s tennis, winning 22 Major titles and 92 overall singles titles. The former World No. 1 hung up his racket following Spain’s quarterfinal exit at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, Spain last November. Since retirement, the 38-year-old has made sporadic public appearances as he prefers being at his home in Mallorca.
In the last few months, Rafael Nadal has made golf his go-to for physical activity. For those unaware, the 22-time Major winner reportedly has a handicap of +0.3. However, as skilled as he is at teeing off at the golf course, Nadal still misses the competitive aspect of tennis by his own admission.
In his recent interaction with Eurosport, the Spaniard went as far as to assert that he gets frustrated at times while playing golf due to the lack of a “goal”. He said:
“I’ve lost my competitive edge, and that makes me angry. I go to play golf and I’m not as focused. I don’t understand going to play without a goal. I’ve always considered myself a competitor and fighting… I prefer that to winning easily. When you retire, your body slows down, but I feel more focused now. Retirement hasn’t been bad for me; I’ve tolerated it well.”
That said, while the 38-year-old sets high standards for himself at golf, he did perform considerably well during his FGB Hexagonal Golf Circuit participation a few days after his retirement last year. He finished eighth out of 78 players, achieving a “birdie” — scoring one stroke under par on a hole — on two par-5 holes and one par-3 hole.
“Rafael Nadal’s ugly swing shoots 71 every time” – When Andy Roddick gave his thoughts on Spaniard’s golf aptitude
Last December, Andy Roddick heaped rich praise on Rafael Nadal for being good at tennis and golf on his podcast, “Served with Andy Roddick”. And while the American did claim that the 22-time Major winner didn’t have the most elegant swing, the fact that the Spaniard was a cut above most amateur golf players was commendable to him. He said:
“Take the best athletes from other sports, put a tennis racquet in their hand and it’s hard. They can look like they’re not athletes very quickly… Even Rafa’s swing video, his golf swing video, people were like, ‘Oh god, what a terrible golf swing!’ He’s a scratch, by the way. That ugly swing shoots 71 every time.”
Nadal, meanwhile, has played various district-level golf tournaments in Mallorca in the past. The former World No. 1 finished joint-sixth at the Balearic Golf Championships in October 2020, which was just a few weeks after he had trounced Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the French Open final.