One of Rafael Nadal’s strengths was his mental strength and his ability to manage his emotions. The legendary Spaniard also spoke in a letter to The Players Tribune about how he managed his emotions before matches and how he managed to control them. “For 30 years, the image I projected to the world was not always the image I felt inside. Honestly, I was nervous before every match I played: that never leaves you. Every night before a match I went to bed feeling like I could lose (and even when I woke up in the morning).
In tennis, the difference between players is very subtle. When you step out on the court, anything can happen, so all your senses have to be awake, alive. That feeling, the inner fire and nerves, the adrenaline of going out and seeing a full court, is a very difficult feeling to describe,” he revealed.
Rafa then talked in more detail about how he has controlled his emotions in his career.
“For most of my career, the 22-time Grand Slam champion continued, I have been good at controlling these emotions. With one exception. I went through a very difficult time, mentally, a few years ago. I was very used to physical pain, but there were moments on the court when I had difficulty controlling my breathing and I couldn’t play at my best. I have no problem saying that now. We are human beings, not superheroes.
The person you see in the center of the court with a trophy is a person. Exhausted, relieved, happy, grateful, but just a person. Fortunately, I have not reached the point of not being able to control things like anxiety, but there are moments with every player when it is difficult to control your mind, and when that happens it is difficult to have total control of your game.
There were months when I thought about taking a complete break from tennis to cleanse my mind. In the end, I worked on it every day to improve. Always moving forward, and little by little I returned to myself. Proud to have fought and never given up. I always gave my best,” he said.
