Rafael Nadal: Although my body in recent times has not worked in my day to day, my head tells me that I still want to continue

Rafael Nadal's body might not be what it used to be in the early years but that hasn't made the Spaniard reconsider his thoughts on retirement. Speaking in a recent interview with Onda Cero, the 22-time Grand Slam champion revealed that he wanted to prolong his career a little more before calling it a day.

At the same time, the Mallorcan made it clear that it was impossible to plan for the future, adding that he tried his best not to think too much about his retirement.

"I would like to say goodbye on court, that's for sure. But you never know what future may bring. And, well, it is obvious that I have also had a very long career, that I feel the love and support of many people all over the world, but we will see how it will be," Nadal said, in comments translated from Spanish into English by Twitter user Genny SS.

"Right now I don't think about it because when you already start thinking about it, it is because something doesn't work in the day to day, right? and although my body in recent times has not worked in my day to day, my head tells me that I still want this to continue and we will see until when," he added.

The 36-year-old went on to state that he will simply accept his retirement however it comes, although his preference would be to do it on the tennis court, similar to how Roger Federer did at the 2022 Laver Cup.

"Things cannot be prepared with a lot of time. I don't think life allows you to have a prediction, not even how you want that moment to be. I don't even think about it. It will be as it has to be," Nadal said. "Impossible to think about what, how, when... I think it's something that when it has to be, it will be, and in that sense, we'll live it the way we have to live it and at the time we have to."

Touching on the Swiss maestro's farewell, Nadal remarked that he was very happy that Federer got the ceremony he deserved, commenting that it was nice to see his friend go out the way he wanted in front of so many fans.

"In the end I think everything went very well. He had the farewell he deserved, it was possible for it to be on court, something that could have been difficult a few weeks ago and that in my opinion was vital and very important for him," Nadal said. "So, very happy that he was able to say goodbye on court."

"The fact that it meant so much to him made it become even much more important and special for me" - Rafael Nadal on Roger Federer wanting to play doubles with him in final professional match

Federer and Nadat at the Laver Cup

Days before Roger Federer announced his retirement to the world, the Swiss maestro made it known to Rafael Nadal first, extending an invitation to join him in his final match. The Spaniard revealed that they talked for almost 15 minutes, where the 20-time Grand Slam champion explained exactly why he decided to call it a day but didn't get into the specifics of their conversation.

"We were talking for about 15 minutes and he explained to me how everything had been going lately and in the end he was honest with me about all the things that were going to happen and the reason for his decisions, although I will keep everything we talked about for myself," Nadal said.

The Mallorcan further disclosed that Federer wasn't fully sure at the time if he would be able to play one final match, but once he got the green light, it was really important for Federer that Nadal join him in his farewell encounter.

The Spaniard was just as chuffed to be part of the Swiss legend's retirement ceremony, noting that it was even more important and special to him that he was there to send Federer off.

"At that point he still wasn't 100% sure if he was going to be able to play the match. We talked about it again and he told me that he saw himself qualified to play doubles and that he would love for me to go there," Nadal said. "For him it was really important and thus, if on a personal level it was already important for me, the fact that it meant so much to him made it become even much more important and special for me."