Nadal Shares Why He Never Skipped Tournaments During His Peak

Rafael Nadal has now been away from professional tennis for a full year. But the former world No. 1 is finally opening up about why his schedule was so intense during his best years. In a new interview on the Movistar+ show Universo Valdano, Nadal talked about the nonstop pressure he felt to play — even when today’s players are speaking out about how exhausting the 2025 tennis season has become.

Over the past year, several top players have criticized the crowded calendar. Jack Draper has talked about feeling worn out. Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the Shanghai Masters and said the tour needs to change. Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff also want more time for rest and recovery.

Nadal understands their frustration. But he explained that skipping tournaments during his prime simply wasn’t possible. The reason: the intense competition between him, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic.

He said his generation grew up chasing Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slams. Once Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic all reached that number, the pressure only grew stronger. Nadal said there were three of us, not two. “We never had room to relax. You could not dispose of a tournament. The need was never lower than maximum.

He said that the Big Three brought each other out at every event. That’s why they always seemed to make the final rounds. He added that it wasn’t something one player could have done alone.

Nadal also talked about how tennis has changed. He said the game is faster now, with harder hitting and stronger serves. But he doesn’t believe the sport has changed as much as people say. He also prefers to play with intuition instead of depending too much on data. Federer felt the same way.

During his career, Nadal played 1,308 ATP singles matches and won 1,080 of them. But the physical style that made him great also caused many injuries. He missed 16 Grand Slams, including three French Opens. His last French Open win required pain-killing injections just so he could finish the event.

Nadal’s career ended last year at the Davis Cup in Málaga. With Federer retired and Nadal now gone too, Novak Djokovic is the only member of the Big Three still active.

Nadal said the hardest part of retiring wasn’t making the decision — it was accepting that his body could no longer keep up. “My tank was empty,” he said. He tried surgeries and long recovery breaks to see if one more comeback was possible. But he eventually accepted the truth: he could still play tennis, just not at the level needed to win big titles.

Even so, he feels calm and satisfied. Fans honored him earlier this year with a huge ovation at Roland Garros, a place where he made history with 14 titles.

And while he may be retired, many fans still hope they will one day see Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic together again — even if it’s just for a special exhibition match.

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